PWLB borrowing drops, Pickles probes Tower Hamlets, Ellerton to K&S, Merseyside blues, HRA bids open

English PWLB borrowing drops
The total amount of English council borrowing through the Public Works Loan board fell by 16 per cent from March 2013 to March 2014. Figures released by PWLB show that the amount owed by major authorities fell from £64.5 billion to £53.9 billion during the year. In Scotland, the total amount of PWLB lending rose from £62.3 million to £70.6 million.

Pickles calls in auditors to probe Tower Hamlets
Communities secretary Eric Pickles has appointed auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers to investigate allegations of governance failure, poor financial management and fraud at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman was accused by BBC programme Panorama of increasing funding to Bangladeshi and Somali groups from £1.5 million to £3.6 million against the recommendations of council officers.

Merseyside combined authority starts in acrimony
The new combined authority for Merseyside got off to a less than auspicious start after Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson accused leaders from partner councils of holding meetings behind his back to ensure that he didn’t chair the new body. According to reports, Anderson vented his anger in a memo to fellow Liverpool councillors after the election of Wirral Council leader Phil Davies took place before he had arrived at a meeting.

Ellerton joins King & Shaxson
Investment firm King & Shaxson has appointed former London Borough of Redbridge principal finance officer Helen Ellerton to its local government team. Ellerton spent 12 years in her role at the council. A statement from K&S said: “Helen’s experience within the sector will compliment the growing success of the local authority team, offering a value added service in negotiable instruments and fixed deposits, tailor made to clients’ requirements.”

Money market funds increase WAM
The weighted average maturity of sterling-denominated prime money market funds increased by an average of 4.3 days to 45.1 days in the first two months of the year. Ratings agency Moody’s added that Sterling-denominated prime MMFs recorded a 4.3 per cent increase in assets under management to £102.8 billion over the period.

Liverpool uses reserves to revitalise properties
Liverpool City Council is investing £6 million from its capital reserves to bring an additional 1,000 empty properties back into use. The investment will see a range of new initiatives being carried out over the next four years, including the provision of loans and other forms of subsidy to encourage owners to bring empty houses back into use. Part of the plans involve the development of a pilot project with a housing association which would see the council buying and refurbishing properties for market rent purposes, with the revenue generated ploughed into bringing more properties back into use.

Bids open for HRA flexibilities
The government has invited bids for £300 million of extra borrowing through their housing revenue accounts, a move announced in October’s Autumn Statement. Bids, which must be approved by local enterprise partnerships, must be received by 16 June. The Department for Communities and Local Government also introduced changes to allow councils to sell vacant land at below market value to a range of organisations if it is then used to build affordable housing.