News-in-Brief

Fifty-seven local authorities across England, in partnership with the Rural Services Network (RSN), have written to local government minister Jim McMahon to advocate for

The government has released £20m of funding in preparation for the setting up of Lancashire’s new Combined County Authority (CCA). The money, which was

Sheffield City Council is looking to a transformation initiative to address a “challenging” financial outlook in the longer-term, as reserves will be needed to

Thurrock Council has confirmed it has filed a legal claim against 23 member councils of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), after a

Warrington Council is implementing additional savings measures as it wrestles with a forecasted £28.1m budget overspend for 2024/25 as at the end of Q2.

Sunderland City Council has secured external funding to support the delivery of its city centre development and regeneration programme. This consists of a Brownfield

Glasgow City Council has not undertaken any new long-term borrowing in 2024/25 despite a borrowing need being identified to maintain the council’s cashflow position.

Labour has confirmed it will be continuing the previous government’s policy on council tax, but “does not recognise claims of a £2.4bn funding gap”

Ministerial ‘envoys’ are to be appointed to Tower Hamlets Council following the publication of an inspection report that showed the authority was “failing to

Slough Borough Council is now forecasting £214m in General Fund capital receipts from its asset disposal programme by the end of financial year 2026/27.

Woking Borough Council has outlined plans to restructure a £13.3m loan made to Greenfield School, an independent institution based in the borough, with £2.4m

The Fair Funding Review is expected to drive “substantial shifts” in resources, potentially creating “very large outliers”, SFN Consulting’s Stuart Hoggan has warned. In

The £47.9bn LGPS Pool Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has committed £48.5m to the Capital Dynamics Clean Energy UK Fund in a bid to

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) is not renewing a Best Value Notice at South Cambridgeshire District Council in relation to

Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, has appointed Eamonn Boylan as interim chief executive, commencing 15 January. Current chief executive Peter Denton

Dorset Council is forecasting an overspend of £13.2m by the end of this financial year, equivalent to 3.5% of the £376.7m budget set in

Joseph Holmes has been appointed interim chief executive of West Berkshire Council. He is currently the authority’s executive director (resources) and section 151 officer.

Hampshire County Council has said it is “almost an inevitability” that it will need to issue a section 114 notice for 2026/27 without a

Wiltshire Pension Fund has committed £30m to an affordable housing fund managed by Octopus Investments. The £30m investment is one of the £3.5bn Local

Leandros Kalisperas, CIO for the £20bn West Yorkshire LGPS fund is set to take on a new role leading the investment team of the

Haringey council is set to acquire 78 council homes as part of the redevelopment of a Mecca Bingo site. A report, due to be presented

Haringey London Borough Council’s budget gap for 2025/26 has increased from £14m in March to £32m, a recent council report has revealed. The reason for the

Some 81% of councils are on course to overspend adult social care budgets this financial year, according to the Association of Directors of Adult

Hillingdon Council has reported a £30.5m overspend halfway through 2024/25 in a budget monitoring report. That figure allows for the delivery of strategic management

Brent Council has stated that its financial position “continues to worsen”, with a “staggering” £16m of savings needing to be identified. The publication of Brent’s