News-in-Brief

Some £79m of short-term borrowing at Medway Council is due for repayment before 31 March 2025. In a mid-year treasury review report, the authority

Planning reform proposals set out by the government would “empower” councils to buy cheaper land through the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders and build

The £30.9bn Strathclyde Pension Fund, which manages the pension assets of nearly 300,000 members on behalf of Glasgow City Council, has decided to increase

West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) has been advised to place oil and gas supermajors BP and Shell on a potential pathway to divestment, as

Modernisation and transformation of service and finance functions are “key” to Nottingham City Council’s recovery, local government minister Jim McMahon has said. Responding to

Croydon Council appears to have “lived within its budget of the financial year just concluded”, according to an eighth report from the authority’s Improvement

The Welsh government will provide an increase of £253m to the local government settlement in its proposed Budget, which represents a like for like

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for a “collaborative approach” between government and councils to tackle local housing challenges. Responding to the government’s

Councils must “play their part to meet housing need” by reaching a new combined target of 370,000 homes a year, the government has said.

LGPS Central, the Wolverhampton-headquartered pool for eight LGPS funds in the Midlands, has appointed a new chief investment officer (CIO). From Spring 2025, Jayne

Derby City Council is proposing savings of £10.2m to set a balanced budget in 2025/26. Measures include a review of staffing levels across all

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England will “likely become unmanageable for local authorities over the coming years” without substantial reform.

A parliamentary inquiry into whether the local government finance system in England is fit for purpose has been launched. The Housing, Communities and Local

Dorset Council’s total external borrowing is forecast to increase from £225m at 30 September 2024 to £320m by 31 March 2026, compared to a

The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is “on the brink of effective bankruptcy” and is asking government for £60.3m in Exceptional Financial Support

Some 23,990 affordable houses have been lost as a result of office-to-residential conversions under permitted development in the past decade, according to Local Government

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has welcomed the increase in funding for local government provided in the Scottish Budget, but highlighted that “it will

Sutton Council is set to approve a £1m loan to its wholly owned subsidiary Sutton Decentralised Energy Network (SDEN) to fund the capital costs

The government has opened a consultation on changes to the planning approval process and a planned overhaul of local planning committees. Planning applications that

Westminster City Council has reprofiled around £60m of its capital budget and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) to reflect changes in its capital programme. According

Birmingham City Council has reached a framework agreement with unions UNISON and GMB to settle the historic equal pay claims brought against the authority.

Local government in Wales is “financially unsustainable over the medium-term unless action is taken”, according to a new report from Audit Wales. Many of

The government has pledged to make planning decisions on at least 150 major infrastructure projects this Parliament as part of the ‘Plan for Change’

The government should uprate temporary accommodation subsidy rates to 90% of 2024 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said,

The Welsh government has confirmed a £120m package of additional funding for 2024 to 2025 to support local authorities. Cabinet secretary for housing and