News-in-Brief

Locally financed capital expenditure is forecast to fall from £10.3bn in 2024/25 to £8.4bn in 2029/30, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR)

Northumberland County Council has approved a debt for equity swap with its development company Advance Northumberland Commercial. Some £83.30m of loans provided to the

The homes form part of the wider Heyford Park regeneration scheme and include affordable rent and shared ownership units. They were purchased from a

The £2bn LGPS  fund has agreed to allocate the capital, subject to clarification on the mandate’s carbon credits framework to ensure that they are

Waltham Forest Council is using Right to Buy receipts to acquire 53 newbuild homes for affordable housing. An executive decision for the purchase was

Westminster City Council will insource its housing solutions service for the first time in more than 20 years in April as it seeks to

Oxfordshire County Council expects to take £62.5m in prudential borrowing in 2024/25 as part of its ten-year capital programme, which has a total borrowing

Local authorities in England will receive an additional £500m in highway maintenance funding from April – but have been told to “publish how many

The Spending Review must provide a “long-term plan to adequately fund councils” while the “time for sticking plasters and emergency government bailouts needs to

A partnership between Oxford City Council and the Environment Agency “could form the blueprint” to unlock a number of housing projects around the country.

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council is seeking approval to increase in-borough capacity for school places for pupils with an education, health and care plan –

Council housing rents across the country are set to increase with all chief financial officers who responded to a survey on the financial stability

Powys County Council took out £55m in short-term borrowing in Q3 to cover rising capital commitments. The authority’s latest treasury management report said that sum also

A ‘financial catastrophe’ looms with ‘unmanageable’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficits risking bankruptcy for half of England’s largest local authorities, the County

Avon Pension Fund has confirmed the details of a new mandate aimed at backing local small and medium-sized businesses. The commitment, a £50m private

Tower Hamlets Council has reported “significant adverse movement” from Q2 to Q3 in both homelessness and adult social care financial pressures. Forecast gross pressure

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has cut capital expenditure by £6.6m from the start of the year, with the expected spend now standing at £16.2m.

A rising Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit poses a threat to Merton Council’s reserves position over the medium term, according to a financial monitoring report

Croydon Council is forecasting a £5.5m overspend on its general fund revenue budget at year-end, even after the expected utilisation of £51m in capitalisation

Southampton City Council is proposing to dispose of 13 assets with a net book value of more than £5m in the third phase of

The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority has launched two new funds aimed at boosting small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, addressing funding gaps

The ACCESS Pool, which represents 11 local government pension schemes with pooled assets of £52bn, has appointed Arcmont Asset Management and Golub Capital to

More councils are reporting significant increases to their Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits, along with the potential consequences of the statutory override ending in

London Treasury Liquidity Fund (LTLF), an investment fund designed for local authorities and public sector bodies, will invest £30m into private real estate debt

Swindon Borough Council will require further borrowing of £210.9m to fund its approved capital programme, according to a Q3 2024/25 capital monitoring report. This requirement