News round-up: LEPs lack skills, counter fraud strategy, council borrowing, mortgage backed bond rating
0Spending watchdog warning over LEP capacities
Local enterprise partnerships lack the skills to deliver on their growth objectives, according to the National Audit Office. The spending watchdog said that 69% of LEPs complain they do not have sufficient staff, with 28% saying their employees lacked the right skills. The NAO found that LEPs “rely on their local authority partners for staff and expertise, and that private sector contributions have not yet materialised to the extent expected”.
Government launches counter fraud strategy
The government has launched a new counter fraud and corruption strategy for local government. The document sets out the approach that local authorities should take over the next three years to transform counter fraud and corruption performance. It is aimed at council leaders, chief executives, finance directors, and all those charged with governance in local authorities. It succeeds the previous strategy, written in 2011. Recommendations for councils include introducing a structured programme on fraud and corruption awareness for elected members and senior managers.
Sharp rise in council borrowing
Local government net borrowing for the financial year-to-date (April 2015 to February 2016) was estimated to be £4.5bn, an increase of £3.2bn on the same period last year, according to new figures. A report from the Office for National Statistics attributed the increase mainly to decreases in grants received from central government, particularly in April. The figure was partially offset by decreases in expenditure on goods & services.
Fitch affirms mortgage backed bond rating
Ratings agency Fitch has affirmed HSBC’s mortgage covered bonds at triple AAA with a stable outlook. The rating is based on the bank’s long-term issuer default rating of AA- plus an uplift due to an 87% asset percentage which it said “provides more protection than the 92.5% ‘AAA’ breakeven”.
