151 BRIEF

  • Torbay boosts property investment to £300m

    Torbay Council is set to double its investment in property and regeneration.

    The council has taken the decision in order to help meet its budget deficit and provide greater financial resilience.

    The investment is forecast to generate an additional £1.5m of income a year after costs and capital.

    Eventually this would take the total income from the fund to £5m per year to help deliver local services.

    The council will use £100m of additional prudential borrowing to enable the Investment and Regeneration Fund to increase to £300m.

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  • Guildford looks to Northern Trust for treasury management

    Guildford Borough Council has appointed Northern Trust to provide its treasury management services.

    The firm will provide trading solutions, global custody, cash management, post-trade analytics and investment reporting.

    Cllr Joss Bigmore, lead for finance, asset management and customer service, said: “We are delighted to have Northern Trust on board to work with us.

    “They will provide additional services to the council to help us to continue to diversify our investment portfolio and manage our treasury management activities.”

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  • MPs to investigate devolution

    Senior MPs are to review whether powers are being devolved fast enough across England.

    Members of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee will scrutinise the impact of recently agreed devolution agreements and ask if the transfer of further powers to England’s cities and regions can boost local economies and provision of public services.

    They will investigate if initiatives like city deals and allowing greater spending powers at regional level are having a positive impact and whether the government can go further.

    Committee chair Clive Betts said: “We will be looking to see how improved devolution can boost cities and regions, and how it can be implemented more quickly.”

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  • Councils share £28m towards migration costs

    Councils are set to share £28m to help support services for new migrants.

    The cash from the Controlling Migration Fund, announced by communities minister Lord Bourne, will support 123 projects across England.

    Councils, including Croydon and Kent, had told Room151 they face a shortfall for funding provision, particularly for unaccompanied children arriving in the UK.

    Lord Bourne said: “Whether its tackling rogue landlords who exploit vulnerable migrants, helping new arrivals learn English or supporting care leavers to access education, the Controlling Migration Fund is delivering results across the country and providing services for the benefit of all.”

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  • Cheshire council care firm given extra year

    A council-owned care home has been given a further year after improving its services.

    Members of Cheshire West and Chester Council agreed to extend a contract with Vivo Care Choices which supports older residents and adults with learning disabilities.

    The firm’s future had been in doubt after it was ordered to improve by the Care Quality Commission. It has achieved ‘good’ ratings and passed benchmarks set by the council.

    Members are waiting for the government’s social care green paper before making further decisions about the long-term future of Vivo.

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  • Business rate borrowing helps regeneration, says think tank

    Giving councils freedom to borrow against future business rate revenue could help boost regeneration, a think tank has claimed.

    A report from think tank Centre for Cities claimed the ability for councils to use tax increment financing (TIF) to borrow against future increases in business rate receipts had helped to fund the development of infrastructure.

    The think tank highlighted its use in Birmingham to enable redevelopment.

    Centre for Cities said: “Central government could allow any authority to use TIF if it so chose.

    “Reflecting on the success or otherwise of how this tool has been used in the zones, the government should consider extending its use to other parts of the country.”

     

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  • Government to consider impact of McCloud ruling

    The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is to meet with external auditors and the Government Actuary’s Department to discuss the impact of the recent McCloud judgement.

    Earlier this month, experts said that the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) faces ongoing uncertainty over compensation costs after the Supreme Court ruled that 2015 changes to the public sector pensions had discriminated against younger employees.

    Minutes from the latest LGPS Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) meeting said: “Although there is now certainty that the McCloud judgement stands and that the case will now go back to the Employment Tribunal for remedy, there was clear support for the board to issue a message to scheme stakeholders clarifying the uncertainties that remain.

    “The board agreed that the secretariat should prepare a draft statement for consideration and approval of the chair.”

    Elsewhere during the meeting, the board was advised that four administering authorities have yet to pay SAB levies dating back to 2017/18.

    “The secretariat will continue to discuss payment with these authorities but for the future, the Board agreed that failure to pay the SAB levy within a reasonable timeframe could result in non-payees being identified in summary reports and with certain services and access to LGA/SAB events being withdrawn,” the minutes said.

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  • Swansea pension fund commits to fossil fuel investment reduction

    One of Wales’ biggest local government pension funds has started to reduce its carbon footprint by cutting the amount of cash invested in companies with high carbon intensity.

    By the end of this month, the City & County of Swansea Local Government Pension Scheme will have transitioned £0.5bn of assets into a low carbon index tracking fund after the adoption of the fund’s Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Policy.

    Clive Lloyd, deputy leader of Swansea Council and chair of the scheme’s pension fund committee, said:

    “Like many other pension funds, we think carefully about how the investments we manage for thousands of existing contributors and pensioners are able to maximise the required returns, whilst also being mindful of our responsibilities to the environment and future generations.

    “That’s why last year we were the first local government pension scheme in Wales – and among only a small number in the world – to commission a review of our equity investment portfolio to find out the exact extent of our carbon and fossil fuel related investments.

    “The review showed that our investments in carbon-related industries were already 9% below the pension industry average.

    “But, over the coming years, it is important that the world reduces its reliance on fossil fuels and carbon-based products, so it’s important that our investments reflect that too.”

    The fund has committed to reducing its carbon and fossil fuel investments by 50% by 2022.

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  • Shared service predicts half million pound overspend

    A shared services venture between Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire county councils and Milton Keynes Council is projecting an overspend of £561,000 for 2019/20.

    According to council documents, the figure is made up of a forecast underspend of £21,000, offset by a specific pressure of £582,000.

    The latter figure relates to a forecast shortfall in delivery against the Cambridgeshire savings target of £919k.

     

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  • CIPFA welcomes MPs’ call for greater whistleblower protections

    The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has welcomed a call by a group of MPs for the creation of an independent office to protect whistleblowers.

    The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on whistleblowing urged the government to establish an independent office to create national standards, enforce protection and issue penalties to organisations and individuals who breach its rules.

    Marc McAuley, counter fraud services lead at CIPFA said: “Whistleblowing helps organisations to detect and tackle misconduct internally, reduce legal compliance risks and build trust.

    “Unfortunately, current policies fail to protect all whistleblowers, and the continued use of non-disclosure agreements to ‘sweep matters under the carpet’ should be a matter of concern for both individuals and organisations.

    “Now is the time to incorporate protections for whistleblowers.

    “A central, independent office would send a strong signal to compliance professionals across industries that whistleblowing should be encouraged, not deterred.”

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