-
31 May 22
A council in the north-west of England has been urged to focus on delivering longer-term savings to help improve its financial position.
-
30 May 22
An English city council expects a multi-million-pound funding gap in its 2022-23 budget, partly fuelled by rampant inflation and social care pressures.
-
27 May 22
Scotland could have to make spending cuts and increase taxes to help fill a medium-term budget deficit, experts have warned.
-
6 May 22
This week’s local elections packed a few surprises. PF examines the results in authorities whose finance departments have been in the news during recent months.
-
29 Apr 22
Nottingham City Council will terminate a contract with a subsidiary company managing its housing stock, after an external investigation found it misspent millions of pounds of authority funding.
-
24 Mar 22
CIPFA’s Sarah Sheen and ICAEW’s Oliver Simms explain how working in local audit brings substantial benefits, including the opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives.
-
8 Mar 22
Nottingham City Council has approved a raft of yearly savings aimed at helping it deliver a forecast budget balance in 2025-26.
-
7 Mar 22
The government has confirmed the London Borough of Croydon will receive £50m of financing flexibilities to help balance the 2021-22 budget, with further support for 2022-23 under consideration.
-
28 Feb 22
The London Borough of Croydon has warned it is at risk of issuing a Section 114 notice next year, after auditors raised questions about the accounting treatment of £73m received from subsidiary...
-
21 Feb 22
Liverpool City Council has forecast a budget gap of £86.7m by 2025-26, despite finding annual savings of more than £16m.
-
8 Feb 22
Changes to post-McCloud pension reforms will see more Local Government Pension Scheme members eligible for enhanced legacy benefits, putting a greater burden on administering authorities, according...
-
8 Feb 22
A London borough is co-operating with a police probe into an allegation of fraud linked to a housing development project.
-
28 Jan 22
External auditors for an East Midlands authority will review financial reporting arrangements after identifying fraudulent payments in the council's 2019-20 financial statements.
-
27 Jan 22
Continuing weaknesses with financial modelling within Whitehall is putting public value for money at risk, according to the National Audit Office.
-
27 Jan 22
A borough council paid a social care provider £1.2m more than it was owed, due to a “lack of a common understanding of roles and responsibilities”, according to an internal audit.
-
18 Jan 22
The government has announced its intention to install commissioners at a West Midlands local authority, with powers to dismiss and appoint senior officers, including the section 151 officer.
-
6 Jan 22
Luton Borough Council is set to establish a new body to provide oversight and advice on the authority’s commercial companies and joint ventures.
-
7 Dec 21
An accounting blunder saw Nottingham City Council mistakenly credit almost £16m of housing funding to its general fund rather than its housing revenue account, it has emerged.
-
1 Dec 21
Wirral Council has approved a financial recovery plan which includes suspending a planned £5m investment to create a community bank, following a critical government-commissioned review.
-
30 Nov 21
The government is proposing new rules that would prevent councils avoiding making provision for debt servicing payments on commercial investments.
-
29 Nov 21
The London Borough of Croydon still needs to close a predicted £13m budget gap next year, despite hoping to receive £25m of financing flexibilities alongside proposed additional savings.
-
26 Nov 21
Nottingham City Council’s internal audit department has criticised the authority’s procurement processes, after financial regulations were waived on more than 20 occasions.
-
25 Nov 21
Liverpool City Council has capacity challenges in many of its corporate services including finance, puttng improvement plans at risk, according to government-appointed commissioners.
-
23 Nov 21
Suffolk County Council has used Public Works Loan Board borrowing to repay £30m of ‘lender option, borrower option’ loans, but expects to deliver real terms savings of £6.4m.
-
22 Nov 21
The working balance of general fund reserves at cash-strapped Peterborough City Council is inadequate to deal with the financial risks the authority faces, according to its finance team.