Brady to step down from bond agency helm
UK Municipal Bonds Agency (UKMBA) chief executive Aidan Brady is stepping down from his role as chief executive after leading the organisation for five years. Brady’s departure comes a week[…]
Funding
ALMO funding issues prompt move to insource housing services
The only arm’s-length management organisation to oversee homes in multiple councils faces closure with all the councils involved intending to take the service directly in-house. East Kent Housing (EKH) serves[…]
Queen’s Speech trails legislation on social care and devolution
Long-delayed reforms to social care were included in the government’s proposed legislative agenda announced in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech. Proposals for a green paper on social care were originally announced in[…]
Kenrick orders freeze on multi-million pound scrapping of local plan
Councillors in South Oxfordshire are have been ordered not to take the district’s spatial plan back to the drawing board amid warnings the move could jeopardise hundreds of millions of[…]
Market makers to step into PWLB financing vacuum
Private sector and institutional lenders have been quick to react after the Treasury this week priced itself out of the long-term local government lending market. A new era for local[…]
Government proposes to continue compensating councils with negative RSG
The government is proposing to compensate councils with negative revenue support grant (RSG) in 2020/21, it has announced in a consultation on the distribution of next year’s local government finance[…]
Devolution white paper announcement accompanied by hint on unitary push
Local areas could get more powers and cash from central government – but face government pressure to adopt unitary models, following this week’s Conservative Party conference. Speaking this week at[…]
Dealing with uncertainty: How finance directors can manage the one-year settlement
A panel of finance directors gathered at Room151’s FDs’ Summit last week to chew over the implications of the recently-announced one-year spending settlement. In August, the government unveiled a one-year[…]
Spending Review saves council from depleting reserves
Shropshire Council says last week’s Spending Review has rescued it from exhausting its reserves this year. A report from external auditors going before councillors this week says the authority faces[…]
Councils forced to use schools reserves to fund SENDs shortfall
The government failed to properly assess the financial consequences for councils of 2014 reforms to the system for supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), according to[…]
