Built upon equal sharing of profit and loss as well as other ethical principles, Islamic finance is prospering in the UK and could provide an alternative approach to managing public funds
A £200m inflation-linked bond issued by the Greater London Authority last week could provide a template for other local authorities looking to borrow from investors, according to a senior figure in...
Councils could face breach of contract claims from Section 151 officers after last-minute government changes to the rules on dismissal from top posts, an employment lawyer has warned.
In a triple whammy, the government has cut town hall funding while creating additional costs and extra work for local authorities assisting people facing destitution.
The Treasury’s Financial Management Review recommendations, scheduled to be implemented in the autumn, have been pushed back because ‘plans have gone beyond the initially stated aims...
The Treasury still needs to learn lessons from the financial crash and must plan for a wide range of different crisis scenarios, a committee of MPs said today.
Councils are embracing a fundraising scheme that could save them nearly £1.5bn over 30 years even if they only refinance half their debt. Richard Johnstone on the first ever municipal bond issue
The first issue of a cross-sector local government bond is expected to take place next year after nearly 50 councils signed up to invest in the Local Government Association company that is developing...
Councils have borne the brunt of the coalition’s public spending cuts, and lost nearly half their core funding in five years. Torn between raising council tax and losing their ‘freeze...
Local authority prudential borrowing rules will need to be reviewed if additional fiscal powers are devolved to town halls, a leading economist has said.
Plans by the Local Government Association to create a municipal bond agency for UK councils is ‘credit positive’ and could improve financial oversight of town halls, ratings agency Moody...
The Local Government Association has announced the creation of a new company to issue municipal bonds, as the long-running plan for councils to borrow from the capital market nears fruition.
The first issue of municipal bond is set to go ahead next spring after the Local Government Association confirmed it had raised more than seven times the necessary funding to launch the agency.
Government changes to the interest rate local authorities pay to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board have become a barrier to councils making decisions to invest in economic infrastructure, the...
Birmingham City Council is set to provide £200,000 in start-up costs for the municipal bonds agency planned by the Local Government Association, it has announced today.
Councils will have to pass a credit test and cross-guarantee loans made to other authorities if they want to access the Local Government Association’s planned municipal bonds agency, the lead...
Increased fiscal devolution to cities is a ‘necessity’ to boost the growth rate of the UK, a leading economist examining plans to increase the powers of municipalities has told Public...
Plans to create a municipal bond agency could save councils nearly £1.5bn in lower borrowing costs, according to the latest analysis by the Local Government Association
Plans to create a municipal bond agency could require closer monitoring of local government by the Treasury to replicate the triple-A ratings received by similar agencies elsewhere, analysts at Moody...
CIPFA has reiterated its opposition to a government proposal to ditch the independent protection against dismissal offered to council Section 151 officers, warning that it could undermine the post’s...
Councils have been warned they will need to set out details of their long-term borrowing plans if a proposed municipal bonds agency is to successfully provide town halls with cheaper finance.