News-in-Brief

Bedford Council’s long-term debt has reached £73.6m as of 31 July 2026, a treasury management report showed.  The council held £43m of short-term borrowing

Bury Council’s earmarked reserves fell from £131.5m at 31 March 2020 to £44.1m at 31 March 2026, a reduction of two-thirds, a report showed. 

The scale of Cheshire West and Chester Council's financial challenge means the authority will need to "consider more fundamental changes to how services are

Leeds City Council has projected a £5.6m overspend for 2026/27 at month five driven by pressure in children’s services, a council report showed.  The

Barking and Dagenham Council has set aside £27m to offset the risk of unrecoverable debt on the part of its wholly owned facilities management

Barnet Council’s executive director of finance and section 151 officer Anisa Darr is to leave the authority in December. She joined the council as

Bassetlaw District Council has forecast a £2.8m budget gap by 2029/30, a council report showed.  This is expected to be managed through a combination

Westmorland and Furness Council is s facing 'several significant risks' as a result of losing some £40m in government funding by 2028/29 due to

East Ayrshire Council is facing a cumulative budget gap of £18m over 2026/27 to 2027/28 amid “significant financial pressure” on health and social care

Border to Coast has appointed two new portfolio managers to support its private markets and equities teams.  The pool has hired Paul Richards as

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has warned that it may consider council tax rises of up to 150% as it grapples with its “biggest financial

Brent Council has projected a £9m overspend in 2026/27 due to housing pressures, a Quarter 2 Financial Forecast report showed.  The council’s revised general

Construction has begun on a regeneration scheme in Stepney Green that will deliver 109 council homes, Tower Hamlets Council said. The Harriott, Apsley and

High Peak Borough Council is facing a £1.5m overspend this year after drawing down £400,000 of earmarked reserves. According to the authority’s latest quarterly

The government has been urged to adopt Community Municipal Investments (CMIs) as part of its devolution strategy in a new report from the University

The government has been urged to set the national care service (NCS) up in this parliament to avoid prolonging the financial crisis within the

The London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) partner fund has plans to cut its equity allocation in favour of greater exposure to private market, as

The London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) partner fund has targeted an asset allocation of 2.5% to local investment to meet the new Fit for

The ‘Rewiring the State’ agenda poses an “existential threat to the future of English councils as we have known them”, according to a think

Preston City Council has appointed Lee Hurst as director of finance (city treasurer), with effect from 26 October 2026. He will replace the current

Ashford Borough Council has received approval for a new environmental scheme which could unlock up to 8,000 new homes once completed, a performance report

The Merseyside Pension Fund has shifted its strategic asset allocation towards equities and confirmed a key leadership appointment at its latest Pension Committee meeting.

Surrey Pension Fund has confirmed the appointment of a key LGPS figure as its independent person, in line with the new requirements set out

Investors led by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) and CCLA have written to the chairs of FTSE100 companies to ask for a

Somerset Council will seek further exceptional financial for 2026/27, with a potential section 114 risk, if the council does not approve a balanced budget