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2 Jul 21
Warwickshire County Council has approved plans to borrow up to £130m over the next five years, which it intends to pass on to businesses to help their long-term recovery from Covid-19.
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2 Jul 21
CIPFA has praised Slough Borough Council’s finance director on the decision to publish a section 114, freezing all non-essential spending as the authority attempts to balance its budget.
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2 Jul 21
The London Borough of Croydon may need to write-off up to £52m in loans to wholly-owned housing firm Brick by Brick, after rejecting the sale of the company.
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1 Jul 21
Slough Borough Council is set to issue a Section 114 notice – banning all unplanned spending – on Friday, PF understands.
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1 Jul 21
The Municipal Bonds Agency is not in any danger of closing, and could issue an ESG bond later this year, according to chairman Sir Merrick Cockell.
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1 Jul 21
Public Finance magazine and Workday recently brought together a group of senior public sector finance leaders for a roundtable discussion exploring ways in which government departments can use agile...
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1 Jul 21
The Municipal Bonds Agency – aimed at providing cheap borrowing to local authorities – faces doubts over its future after racking up pre-tax losses of £650,000 last year.
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30 Jun 21
Eight struggling local authorities will be subject to financial healthchecks by CIPFA as they await approval on £72.5m of government support, ministers have announced.
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30 Jun 21
An investment company set up to buy commercial property on behalf of two councils has suffered cumulative losses of more than £12.5m since it launched four years ago.
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30 Jun 21
Powys County Council has agreed to wind down a housing maintenance joint-venture next year, halfway through the original contract term, and insource the services.
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30 Jun 21
Government departments lack urgency in their efforts to measure fraud and error relating to Covid-19 spending, according to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
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29 Jun 21
Uttlesford District Council is applying for a credit rating to allow it access to a greater range of borrowing to fund its multi-million programme of out-of-borough commercial investments.
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29 Jun 21
The government has proposed a three-year valuation period for business rates, alongside changes to the appeals process, in a bid to make the system more effective.
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29 Jun 21
Luton Borough Council has agreed a £119m rescue package for the authority-owned company which runs Luton Airport, after Covid-19 slashed revenues.
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29 Jun 21
Leicestershire County Council will ask its schools to transfer £2m of funding to help meet a burgeoning special educational needs deficit, which presents a “significant risk” to the authority.
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28 Jun 21
A London borough has written off costs totalling more £7m after a regeneration programme was scrapped by the authority last year.
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28 Jun 21
Sara Pitt and Rebecca Hellard explain how they improved the performance of Birmingham City Council’s finance department.
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25 Jun 21
Sefton Council has approved plans to borrow £800,000 over the next three years to help improve the performance of an authority-owned shopping centre.
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25 Jun 21
Peterborough City Council’s external auditors have raised serious concerns about the financial situation of the authority, which has become reliant on additional government support.
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24 Jun 21
CIPFA is proposing to boost the information it provides on proposed borrowing restrictions on borrowing for yield in its update to the Prudential Code.
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24 Jun 21
Increased grant funding related to Covid-19 has led to a 500% increase in councils' forecast reserve spending this year, according to latest figures.
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23 Jun 21
Somerset County Council has approved plans to develop a £70m strategic partnership to provide 10 children care and foster homes, in a bid to reduce reliance on private operators.
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23 Jun 21
Government figures released today show a sharp rise in business rate and council tax arrears - PF speaks to local authority finance officers about the factors behind the figures.
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22 Jun 21
Brentwood Borough Council forecasts a half million pound loss at its one of its leisure centres this year, after the operator went into insolvency.
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22 Jun 21
CIPFA has praised Birmingham City Council’s financial management, just two years after a report criticised the arrangements at the authority.