Councils back call for cross-party social care agreement
The Local Government Association has welcomed a call from the chairmen of three House of Commons select committees for the government to reach cross-party agreement on the future of health and social care funding. A joint letter on the issue has been signed by Sarah Wollaston of the health committee, Meg Hillier on the public accounts committee, and Clive Betts at communities and local government. It said: “In short, the problem is widely recognised – we now need political agreement so that a solution for the long term can be found.”
Responding, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “We completely support the select committees in urging the prime minister to reach a cross-party agreement on the future of health and social care funding. But it is absolutely vital that local government leaders, who are responsible for social care in their local community, are part of that review.”
Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, said: “The funding crisis surrounding social care is pushing councils towards breaking point and piling tremendous pressure on the NHS. It is crucial the Government acts swiftly and finds a solution that works for the long term.”
MIFID II ‘threatens LGPS infrastructure investment’
Proposed rules to classify local authority pension funds as retail investors threatens their ability to invest in infrastructure, according to The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. In its response to a consultation on the European Union’s emerging Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, it said that the majority of infrastructure investmen firms are structured to explicitly exclude retail investors. Graham Vidler, director of external affairs at the PLSA, said: “With LGPS funds investing billions in infrastructure right now, and at a time when the Government is calling for greater infrastructure investment by pension funds, these proposals are counterintuitive.”
Government reveals housing fund winners
The government has announced funding to support three new garden towns and 14 new “garden villages”. The schemes, already in the planning system, will receive an average of around £220,000 per year over two years. The government says the funding will help deliver more than 48,000 homes.
LGA calls for an end to competitive bidding for funds
Councils have called on the government to scrap its current preference for competitive bidding to access economic development funds. Mark Hawthorne, chairman of the Local Government Association’s people and places board, said: “The current system, which requires millions of pounds of public money to be spent on bidding for funds from the public purse, creates uncertainty for businesses and investors. Councils and businesses want to spend this money on improving the economy, not reams of costly bureaucracy.”
Bond investors see looming threat of inflation
The number of European bond investors rating inflation as a high risk has risen 300% in six months, according to a survey by Fitch Ratings. The Financial Times said that one in five of those surveyed cited inflation as a high risk to their 2017 investment strategies.
