23 March 2001
Answering a Commons question on March 21, local government minister Hilary Armstrong said the proposals, which will give local authorities greater financial control, would be implemented as soon as Parliamentary time allowed.
The new system will rely heavily on professional regulation and will be based on a code drafted by CIPFA with support from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. It would include the introduction of a 'prudential' system to help local authorities invest in capital assets.
'Under the new system, local authorities will be free to invest in their communities without having to get permission each time from central government,' Armstrong said. 'Proposed safeguards in the system will ensure that authorities do not run up unsustainable levels of debt and that increased flexibility will allow them to deliver better value for money.'
Vernon Sore, CIPFA's policy and technical director, said: 'CIPFA has started work on the professional code that is intended to underpin the new system. We will be working closely with the government and local authority associations.'
PFmar2001
