News Roundup: Disinvestment curbs, New Homes Bonus, spending power, Glasgow OBE, grant cuts admission

Government slammed over proposed disinvestment curbs
Campaigners have slammed the government for proposing restrictions on the ability of local authorities to disinvest from companies on ethical grounds. Ministers are consulting on changes to pensions regulations which would “make clear to authorities that in formulating these policies their predominant concern should be the pursuit of a financial return on their investments… They should not pursue policies which run contrary to UK foreign policy.” But campaigners say the move is an attack on local democracy and decision-making.

Government admits grant cut could hit services
The local government settlement may result in councils being forced to stop delivering some services, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has admitted. In its equalities impact assessment into the settlement, the department said: “The cumulative effect of reductions in central funding, changes in distribution, business rates retention, authorities’ ability to raise funds through council tax and other changes in funding may result in services being re-shaped, scaled back or stopped.”

Options outlined for homes bonus cuts
Councils could lose New Homes Bonus payments if they have failed to put a local plan in place, the government has announced. The DCLG is consulting on a number of measures which will enable the department to comply with the chancellor’s decision to reduce overall funding for the stream from 2017/18. It is also consulting on proposals to reduce payments on units approved at appeal and to set a minimum threshold below which payments would not be made.

Glasgow finance chief awarded OBE
Lynn Brown, executive director of financial services at Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Pension Fund has been awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year’s Honours list. Brown, who joined the authority in 2003, was rewarded for services to local government and charity.

Spending power cuts ‘fairer than in last Parliament’
Cuts to spending power over the next four years will be more evenly distributed across councils than over the last parliament, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies. However, in its analysis of the local government settlement, it said cuts would still be larger for poorer areas most reliant on grant. It said that “while DCLG’s new allocation of funding accounts for the initial level of grant reliance, it does not account for the fact that things change over time as councils’ other sources of revenue – notably council tax – grow”.