News-in-Brief

The Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) faces pressure to divest from fossil fuels and the arms industry amid a £1.3bn allocation to the non-renewables

Southampton City Council has approved an expenditure of up to £5m of the Right to Buy receipts collected in 2019/20 on a pilot programme

West Berkshire Council will be forced to seek Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the government if its currently forecast overspend of £2m for 2024/25

Blackpool Council will continue to utilise short-term borrowing in the expectation that the Bank of England base rate continues to fall, according to a

Havering London Borough Council has said it will not be able to balance its 2025/26 budget without further government support or direction. The authority

Mid Sussex District Council has reported a net interest return on its treasury investments of £2.1m to Q2 2024/25. The council cited improved available

A total of 54 councils will benefit from a £68m government fund intended to unlock brownfield sites. Councils that receive funding under the Brownfield

Bury Council will not have enough reserves left to set a balanced budget in 2027/28 unless significant savings are made. The authority is expecting

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council has identified revenue savings for 2025/26 totalling £33.840m across 47 proposals. The council received Exceptional Financial Support (EFS)

Chief finance officers at Scottish local authorities are not in favour of introducing an equivalent to England’s section 114 notice legislation, according to a

Wirral Council needs “immediate action” to address a deteriorating financial situation. A Q2 budget monitoring report stated that “without substantial action being taken” the

David Vickers, chief investment officer at Brunel Pension Partnership, will step down in Spring 2025 after four years with the Local Government Pension Scheme

The aggregate funding levels of the Local Government Pension Scheme have reached 112%, new research by Isio has revealed. Isio’s Low-Risk Funding Index indicated

The pension fund for the London Borough of Barnet has committed £75m to London CIV’s natural capital strategy, following a decision made at its

Robin Tuddenham and Kath O’Dwyer have been announced as the next president and chair of Solace, the representative body for more than 1,800 chief

A separate survey conducted by the County Councils Network (CCN) has suggested that 26 of its member councils in England may have to declare

One in four councils in England are likely to apply for emergency government bailout agreements in financial years 2025/26 and 2026/27 without additional funding,

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has appointed provider ITS Technology as a partner for the delivery of a fibre network. The fibre network is part of

Oxfordshire County Council has reduced its2024/25 capital programme by £40.5m following the reprofiling of several projects. The authority approved a capital programme for the

Flintshire County Council has reported a “significant projected overspend” of £5.9m for the current financial year. This budget gap is due to demand on

Croydon Council has reported that it will have to continue using exceptional financial support (EFS) to balance its budget unless “resolution” is found for

Torfaen County Borough Council will conduct a review of all children’s placements and seek “appropriate stepdown arrangements where possible” in light of a £3.2m

Hertfordshire County Council is reporting an overspend of £20.9m in its net revenue budget. However, with the full use of the £20m contingency budget,

Councils in Wales are facing “unsustainable” budget pressures totalling an estimated £559m in 2025/26, according to the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). If left

Pressures in adult and children’s social care services mean Blackpool Council is forecasting a £7m overspend for 2024/35 at month four, representing a significant