Debt
Ministers to make more changes to debt rules
Ministers are poised to impose immediate further changes to local government debt rules – including stricter in-year reporting of unpaid loan repayments due to town halls.
Scottish councils’ debt is one-and-a-half times funding
The debt of councils in Scotland is more than one-and-a-half times the latest local government funding settlement, the Scottish Conservatives have found.
Making economic development a statutory duty for councils would be a rare win-win
The sector wants to make economic development services a statutory duty for councils. Abdool Kara says the challenge for local authorities is to open the Treasury’s eyes to the prize it considers could be available.
Thurrock boosted by £500m after sale
Thurrock Council has received £510m in payments following the sale of Toucan Energy Holdings – the firm that triggered a section 114 notice when it collapsed.
Isle of Wight debt accounts for 42% of annual budget
Isle of Wight Council has insisted it borrows to invest in essential projects after revealing its debt amounts to 42% of the authority’s annual budget.
Croydon 'must go further' in financial recovery
Croydon LBC still faces an uphill battle to recover from financial collapse, according to the latest report from its improvement panel.
Best Value Notices issued over debt concerns
The Government has issued Best Value Notices to two debt-laden councils.
Committee calls for Government action on council debt chasing
Councils have been found to use ‘heavy-handed’ tactics to chase council tax debts, according to a report by MPs.
Brum commissioners warn council will need further help to agree lawful budget
Commissioners at Birmingham City Council have warned it will struggle to agree a lawful budget next year without further help.
Call for Government write off of Croydon debt
The Government should write off Croydon LBC’s £1.3bn of General Fund debt, a senior opposition councillor has urged.
Minister’s concern over Warrington debt
Local government minister Lee Rowley has expressed concern over Warrington Council’s levels of debt in a leaked letter to leader Russ Bowden.
Croydon improvement panel details exit strategy
Croydon LBC’s Government-appointed improvement panel has outlined a timetable for withdrawing from the authority amid ‘strong progress’ in fixing its finances.
Councils face £3.5bn shortfall
Research has uncovered a £3.5bn shortfall facing councils over the next financial year.
Council to limit non-essential spending amid s114 threat
Windsor & Maidenhead BC is to limit all non-essential spending as it raised the risk of a section 114.
Funding reviews don’t help in a crisis
The Government should return to the lessons of the 2008 financial crisis by detaching capital and debt servicing issues from the councils in greatest distress and dealing with them in a bad bank, says Claire Kober.
Spelthorne confident of financial strength
Spelthorne BC has struck a defiant note over its level of debt on the back of another Surrey council warning of potential bankruptcy.
Modernisation and disruption are required to help those who need it most
An outdated welfare system is costing millions and leaving those most in need without the help they require, says Matthew Adam.
Councils’ last throw of the dice
Government may believe councils’ financial failures are the result of gambling with the public purse, but it is centralisation and a lack of reform driving the problems, says Andy Pike.
EXCLUSIVE: Government rejects sector's Oflog concerns
The Government has rejected council concerns about key Oflog metrics that have been labelled ‘misleading and meaningless’.
The lost years
The UK is reeling from nearly five years of lost economic growth. Ann McGauran asks what action local and central Government should take to support the most vulnerable.