The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned the comprehensive spending review could lead to less money for spending departments than was trailed in March’s Budget, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Local authority borrowing continued to rise in June to £3bn, £100m more than in May, and ten times higher than the figure for June 2019, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The government has been criticised for its lack of understanding of the effectiveness of tax reliefs, as after a report from the Public Accounts Committee said it knew "too little" about the schemes.
The government has announced £3bn of extra funding for the NHS in England to deal with an upcoming “perfect storm” that threatens to tip the health service over capacity.
New proposals to rectify discrimination introduced by 2015 reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme will cost employers £2.5bn, the government has estimated.
The National Audit Office is to investigate the government’s implementation of Covid-19-related employment initiatives, including how it is mitigating the risk of fraud.
Councils borrowed £875m for housing projects in March from the Public Works Loan Board after the introduction of a special rate for housing revenue account projects in the Budget.
Birmingham City Council has received the biggest allocation from the government’s latest £500m pot to support councils with spending related to Covid-19.
The government has unveiled long-awaited proposals to end age discrimination in public sector pension schemes, although changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme will have to wait for a separate...
The Treasury has announced a further round of gilt sales, taking the planned 2020-21 total to £385m – more than double the amount anticipated in March’s Budget.
Luton Borough Council has agreed a “horrendous” package of spending cuts after the airport operator it owns declared it could not make an expected £16m dividend payment due to Covid-19.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ordered a review of Capital Gains Tax to simplify the system, prompting speculation that a rise in the rate could help bolster the public finances.
The government must ensure £730m of unspent European Union funding is spent by the end of the year to prevent it being sent back to Brussels, according to the Local Government Association.
The government may need to rethink its fiscal policy strategy to account for economic shocks happening more frequently than previously assumed, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The government is “blind” to the extreme risks some councils have exposed themselves to through their commercial investments, a report by the Public Accounts Committee has claimed.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has voiced worries over a lack of detail from government on the Shared Prosperity Fund, expected to replace European Union structural funds from next year.
The Department for Work and Pensions has made “poor progress” in reducing fraud and error in the administration of Universal Credit, according to the National Audit Office.
Thurrock Council has rejected concerns raised in the Financial Times over its investment strategy, which has seen it borrow more than £1bn from other councils.
Moving away from current budgeting principles to ease the pressures of the Covid-19 response would be a retrograde step for local government, writes Rob Whiteman.
The government will need a plan to manage its Covid-related debt in place by the autumn, according to former permanent secretary to the Treasury, Lord Macpherson.
Government borrowing in response to Covid-19 could rise to £500bn in the wake of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s economic package announced yesterday, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
