News-in-Brief

Woking Borough Council’s debt now stands at over £2.1bn while the value of its realisable assets is less than half of that amount, a

Medway Council appears likely to require Exceptional Financial Support from government again to set a balanced budget in 2024/25, unless it can deliver “urgent

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has launched a consultation on proposals to reform Right to Buy with the aim of ensuring the scheme is

Home-to-school transport costs are set to reach £3.6bn per year by 2030 for councils across England, according to a new report published by the

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is forecasting savings of at least £4m for 2024/25 as a result of its treasury management strategy. The council has

Oxfordshire County Council repaid a £5m Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loan of £5m without penalty during the first half of 2024/25 when the

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool ACCESS has announced that its assets have reached £50bn, bringing its pooling progress to over 75%, amid

Worcestershire City Council is forecasting a net £12.5m overspend at the end of 2024/25 following the use of £7.9m budgeted risk reserves and without

Fifty-seven local authorities across England, in partnership with the Rural Services Network (RSN), have written to local government minister Jim McMahon to advocate for

The government has released £20m of funding in preparation for the setting up of Lancashire’s new Combined County Authority (CCA). The money, which was

Sheffield City Council is looking to a transformation initiative to address a “challenging” financial outlook in the longer-term, as reserves will be needed to

Thurrock Council has confirmed it has filed a legal claim against 23 member councils of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), after a

Warrington Council is implementing additional savings measures as it wrestles with a forecasted £28.1m budget overspend for 2024/25 as at the end of Q2.

Sunderland City Council has secured external funding to support the delivery of its city centre development and regeneration programme. This consists of a Brownfield

Glasgow City Council has not undertaken any new long-term borrowing in 2024/25 despite a borrowing need being identified to maintain the council’s cashflow position.

Labour has confirmed it will be continuing the previous government’s policy on council tax, but “does not recognise claims of a £2.4bn funding gap”

Ministerial ‘envoys’ are to be appointed to Tower Hamlets Council following the publication of an inspection report that showed the authority was “failing to

Slough Borough Council is now forecasting £214m in General Fund capital receipts from its asset disposal programme by the end of financial year 2026/27.

Woking Borough Council has outlined plans to restructure a £13.3m loan made to Greenfield School, an independent institution based in the borough, with £2.4m

The Fair Funding Review is expected to drive “substantial shifts” in resources, potentially creating “very large outliers”, SFN Consulting’s Stuart Hoggan has warned. In

The £47.9bn LGPS Pool Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has committed £48.5m to the Capital Dynamics Clean Energy UK Fund in a bid to

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) is not renewing a Best Value Notice at South Cambridgeshire District Council in relation to

Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, has appointed Eamonn Boylan as interim chief executive, commencing 15 January. Current chief executive Peter Denton

Dorset Council is forecasting an overspend of £13.2m by the end of this financial year, equivalent to 3.5% of the £376.7m budget set in

Joseph Holmes has been appointed interim chief executive of West Berkshire Council. He is currently the authority’s executive director (resources) and section 151 officer.