Housing ministry returns cash to Treasury

Councillors ignore officer warning over £1.4m cost of scrapping development plan: An incoming political regime at a Derbyshire council have ignored strong warnings from a senior officer that scrapping an emerging development plan will cost it at least… dlvr.it/R5GCvJ pic.twitter.com/s1WzKe5PSn

Liverpool to reopen housing revenue account: Liverpool City Council is set to reopen its housing revenue account to build new council homes – 11 years after it transferred its remaining stock to a registered provider. In[...] dlvr.it/R5CgV3 pic.twitter.com/bB11lln7N2

Norfolk raises savings target to £40m for next financial year: Norfolk County Council’s cabinet has agreed to increase its savings target to £40m for the 2020-21 financial year – at the same time as backing proposals for a £13.2m new[...] dlvr.it/R5BvJ6 pic.twitter.com/fQlGmt0Wmj

Court ruling ‘could lead to 1% rise in LGPS liabilities’: Local Government Pension Scheme funds are likely to face an increase in their liabilities of up to 1% if the government loses a court case on its 2015 pension reforms,[...] dlvr.it/R57nGY pic.twitter.com/tchSvVzWHh

Businesses failing on LEP match funding, MPs told: Private sector firms are not matching public sector funding for local regeneration, senior civil servants have admitted. Two senior civil servants at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local… dlvr.it/R56Zgk pic.twitter.com/qBFol2eoiz

LGPS “still overweight” in equities despite record yearly reduction: Local Government Pension Scheme investments in equities dropped by 3.2% in 2017/18 as overall assets rose by 5% compared to the previous year to £275bn, according to the Scheme… dlvr.it/R4qZnn pic.twitter.com/FMDBBTZ5Yl

CIPFA chief calls for ministers to lose Fair Funding Review role: Future versions of the Fair Funding Review should be carried out by an independent body, according to Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and… dlvr.it/R4pyMZ pic.twitter.com/5zyskKdxfV

Spending watchdog probes council borrowing for property investment: The National Audit Office is investigating the growing trend of councils borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board to fund property investment, it has been revealed. The probe was… dlvr.it/R4lpKX pic.twitter.com/IQE8pEljHX

Troubled Northamptonshire makes ‘unprecedented’ in-year turnaround: Northamptonshire County Council has turned a projected overspend of more than £30m for 2018-19 into a budget surplus of £1m in a turnaround described by the authority’s executive… dlvr.it/R4l99p pic.twitter.com/4Xuf88q3FO

Extinction Rebellion protestors halt Sunak speech to call for LGPS fossil fuel divestment: Extinction Rebellion protesters yesterday derailed a speech by local government minister Rishi Sunak to demand he gives council pension funds greater powers to… dlvr.it/R4l94C pic.twitter.com/VCTqocjS1P

We got a nice thing through the mail! room151.co.uk/brief/#the-ind… #localgov #treasurer #independence @CIPFA @RobWhiteman Enjoy, and thanks to David Jones for getting in touch.

Spending Review set to outline ‘transition’ towards national tax devolution: The forthcoming Spending Review is set to pave the way for the devolution of some national taxes to local government, according to chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss.… dlvr.it/R4N4ds pic.twitter.com/Ym1pM3cMY9

Low reserves aggravate Hertfordshire £90m funding gap: Hertfordshire County Council is facing a funding gap set to grow to £90m in four years’ time, with plans in place expected to account for half of the shortfall, according[...] dlvr.it/R4MVT1 pic.twitter.com/2NH5tjVr7W

Boosted s151 officer role ‘significantly improves’ LEP transparency: The National Audit Office has reported a significant improvement in the financial transparency of England’s Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) after section 151 officers were given… dlvr.it/R4MVMY

Barclays’ court submission denies councils’ LOBO fraud claim: Barclays has denied fraudulently entering a number of Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loans with councils, in court documents seen by Room151. In February, a group of seven councils… dlvr.it/R4HltN pic.twitter.com/xBVU3ek7fB

Hackney to tackle fuel poverty with clean energy company: Hackney Council has earmarked £150,000 as start-up costs for a council-run energy company to tackle the fuel poverty of almost 10,000 households in the borough. The council’s cabinet this week[...] dlvr.it/R3xKbq pic.twitter.com/AABSc8rFuo

Super night courtesy of @CIPFA at The #pfawards19 last night. Thanks to the organisers and congratulations to all the winners! room151.co.uk/151-news/cipfa… #localgov

CIPFA stars shine at awards: The brightest and best in public finance have been recognised at a top awards ceremony. The annual Public Finance Awards saw Bromley Council take the top spot for its work[...] dlvr.it/R3v0HL