News round-up: Local government pay, Dover housing scheme scrapped, spending set to plummet
0UNISON accepts pay offer
Trade union UNISON has decided to accept the pay offer from local government employers it previously described as “paltry”. The deal will see staff offered a 1% increase in April with a further 1% next year. UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield said: “Having talked to members in local government across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we’ve decided that there are to be no further consultations and we have agreed to accept the employers’ pay offer for 2016/18.”
Dover scraps housing scheme
Plans to build 500 new homes has been scrapped by Dover District Council, blaming the government’s policy of enforcing rent cuts for social housing tenants. The £75m project was announced in January last year as a measure to address shortages in affordable housing. But the scheme was cancelled in the council’s latest draft budget for 2016/17.
Spending set to plummet
Revenue and capital spending by UK local government is set by 2020 to fall to its lowest level since before 1948, according to new research. A report by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and New Policy Institute said that council tax will account for at least half of money coming into councils by the end of the decade. Paul O’Brien, chief executive at APSE, said: “Whilst new funding for social care is of course welcome, the overall picture for local council finances remains grim. Without adequate funding we risk abandoning liveability services like parks, refuse and recycling, highways, and street lighting to long term decline.”
PiP reaches close on £125m fund
The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PiP) has reached the first close of its multi-strategy infrastructure fund, with £125m of pension scheme investor commitments. The fund will invest a minimum of £1m per scheme directly in UK infrastructure. Strathclyde Pension Fund and West Midlands Pension are among the founding members of PiP.
Clark makes settlement assurance
Communities secretary Greg Clark has confirmed that business rate reforms announced in the Budget will not alter the four-year funding settlement proposed for councils. In a letter to Clive Betts, the chairman of the communities and local government select committee, he said: “I can confirm that I expect the four year allocations confirmed in the final settlement on 10 February 2016, to be the amounts presented to Parliament each year, should councils choose to accept the offer. It is open to any council to continue to work on a year-by-year basis, but I cannot guarantee future levels of funding for those that prefer not to have a four-year settlement.”
Housing association gets bond rating
Ratings agency Moody’s has given an A1 rating to a £250m bond issue by London & Quadrant housing association. The proposed bonds are anticipated to have a long-dated (around 10 years) maturity. Earlier this month, L&Q Group announced its intention to merge with two other associaitons – Hyde Group and East Thames Group.
