The Welsh local government minister has amended the guidance on debt provision to help local authorities maintain existing capital programmes and bring forward capital works. Minister Dr Brian Gibbons agreed councils across Wales would be able to defer minimum revenue provision on any capital projects they had started after 1 April 2008 and complete before the end of March 2011. Dr Gibbons said: ‘What I'm proposing is a deferral and not a full exemption. The moratorium will only apply to borrowing incurred on projects within a three-year timeframe, and councils will still have to make full provision for the repayment of debt over the lifetime of the assets created by projects.'
