New £85m bailout for Welsh buses
Transport group warns of ‘rapid and deep cut’ in bus services
Manchester councils secure funding for clean energy project
Leaders call for a ring-fenced Sports Recovery Fund
The LATCo model
Mark Scott explains how local authorities can deliver profit with a purpose.
Welsh sport and leisure sector welcomes £14m recovery funding
17/09/2020 The Welsh government has announced a £14m funding package to support Wales’ sport and leisure sector during the Covid-19 lockdown. |
Leeds City Council faces over £100m funding gap
17/09/2020 Leeds City Council has appealed to the Government for more financial support as it projects a funding gap next year of over £100m. |
Jenrick announces over £90m to tackle rough sleeping
17/09/2020 The Government has announced today that over £90m in funding will be given to local authorities to help them provide temporary housing to vulnerable people. |
Wakefield council rules out paying Welcome to Yorkshire £78,000
16/09/2020 Wakefield council has decided against giving Welcome to Yorkshire additional funding choosing instead to pump it directly into the district’s tourism sector. |
Thousands of families face ‘bleakest’ winter, charity warns
14/09/2020 A new report from a children’s charity has warned of a ‘bleak’ winter with thousands of families set to be plunged into financial crisis. |
Councils warned about 'risky' investment in commercial property
11/09/2020 Councils have been warned that some investments in commercial property are delivering yields millions below forecasts by the TaxPayers' Alliance. |
Minister announces business ‘safety net’ for local lockdowns
10/09/2020 Businesses in England that are forced to shut because of local interventions will now be able to claim up to £1,500 per property every three weeks, ministers say. |
Highways England to invest £9m in EV ‘try before you buy’ scheme
09/09/2020 Highways England has announced that it is investing over £9m in a local government electric vehicle (EV) ‘try before you buy’ scheme as part of World EV day. |
Council chiefs welcome £12bn affordable housing fund
08/09/2020 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Government’s affordable housing funding announcement, but called for more powers to deliver social homes in their local areas. |
Government should provide £500m arts resilience fund, says study
08/09/2020 The Government should devolve power over arts funding to councils and make a resilience fund available to support art and culture in local areas, report says. |
Social care spending is £600m lower than in 2010, finds TUC
07/09/2020 Adult social care spending in England is £600m lower per year compared to a decade ago, new research has found. |
Scottish Government shells out £10m for greener buses
04/09/2020 The Scottish Government has awarded over £9.75m to 19 bus and coach operators to retrofit 594 vehicle exhausts over the next financial year. |
Government announces £2m clean air fund
02/09/2020 The Government has announced the latest round of funding for local projects to improve air quality across England. |
Funding boost for council tax reduction scheme in Wales
01/09/2020 Welsh councils will receive an extra £2.8m to help cover the increased demand for the council tax reduction scheme. |
Calls for emergency funding to help tenants clear 'Covid-arrears'
28/08/2020 The Government has been urged to create a £270m investment package to help tenants clear rent arrears as a result of the pandemic. |
Scottish councils get active travel funding boost
26/08/2020 The Scottish Government has cut its match funding requirement for permanent active travel infrastructure after giving councils nearly £39m for pop-up physical distancing schemes. |
UK council finances 'hardest hit in Europe, claims Moody's
26/08/2020 UK local authorities are set to be hardest hit financially by the coronavirus among the five largest European economies says a report from Moody’s Investors Services. |
Local authority pension fund invests £150m in rental housing
25/08/2020 An investment manager for local authority pension funds has invested £150m in private rental housing provider Get Living. |
Income compensation scheme fails to cover the cost of Covid
25/08/2020 Government plans to compensate councils for income lost due to COVID-19 are only likely to cover half the cost of the losses, it is claimed. |
Music venues first recipients of £1.57bn recovery fund
24/08/2020 Grassroots music venues across England are the first recipients of the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, the culture secretary has announced. |
Lockdown havoc on finance figures
21/08/2020 Public debt has bust the £2tn mark for the first time, up by £227.6bn over the same time last year as the lockdown wreaks havoc on the public finance figures. |
Pre-crisis council tax arrears reached £3.6bn
19/08/2020 Local authorities were owed £3.6bn in unpaid council tax before the start of the pandemic, figures have shown. |
London boroughs and Cardiff Council take £58.2m from moving traffic offences
19/08/2020 Councils in London and Cardiff made £58.2m from moving traffic offences in 2018/19, according to the RAC. |
Council leader welcomes £77m funding to invest in York city centre
19/08/2020 The leader of City of York council has welcomed the ‘fantastic news’ that £77m will be invested to ensure that York’s city centre development goes ahead. |
Councils facing £2bn budget black hole
18/08/2020 Councils face a budget black hole of £2bn this year due to unfunded coronavirus costs, a new study has found. |
£260m funding boost for Welsh councils
14/08/2020 Welsh ministers have announced a £260m funding boost for councils, bringing the total amount of government COVID-19 support to almost half a billion pounds. |
Road safety charity launches £300,000 COVID-19 fund
12/08/2020 A £300,000 fund has been opened to help local authorities respond to changing road use and emerging road safety issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Welsh government announces £50m package to tackle homelessness
11/08/2020 The Welsh government has announced the onset of phase two of a package aimed at providing people with safe and secure homes. |
Government extends emergency bus and tram funding
10/08/2020 Ministers are giving bus and tram services in England outside London up to £256m to help them ramp up services ahead of expected increases in public transport use next month. |
Councils awarded £40m to set up more home-to-school transport
10/08/2020 Local authorities have been given a £40m funding boost to increase home-to-school transport provision from September. |
Cornwall first to pass on COVID-19 funding to local councils
07/08/2020 Cornwall Council is set to be the first to pass on government funding to parish and town councils affected by the coronavirus crisis. |
Cyber attack cost council more than £10m
06/08/2020 A ransomware attack in February cost Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council more than £10m, a new report has revealed. |
Winners of £900m for shovel ready schemes are announced
04/08/2020 Ministers have announced the 300 schemes that will receive a share of the £900m Getting Building Fund and confirmed £360m for mayoral combined authorities to fund homes on brownfield land. |
Councils urge extension for grants support scheme
03/08/2020 Fresh calls have been made for councils to be allowed to dole out to businesses the £1.6bn unspent from the Government’s small firms grant funds. |
MPs slate ministers over local government funding
23/07/2020 MPs have slated ministers for failing to give local government sufficient funding and urged them to ensure a 'clear and timely financial settlement’ in readiness for the next phase of the pandemic. |
MSPs to explore COVID-19 impact on council finances
23/07/2020 The impact of the coronavirus crisis on local government finances in Scotland is to be investigated by a Holyrood Committee. |
Leicester calls for permission to spend unallocated grant money
22/07/2020 Leicester City Council has asked for permission to use £10m of unallocated business grants to help struggling local businesses after its lockdown was extended. |
London boroughs face £23m rent arrears due to Universal Credit
22/07/2020 The rollout of Universal Credit is leading to thousands of council tenants falling behind on rent payments, new research commissioned by London Councils has found. |
Government launches Spending Review
21/07/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned of ‘tough choices’ as he launched the Comprehensive Spending Review. |
Scheme finds billions in benefit fraud
21/07/2020 A government scheme has detected nearly £2bn in benefit fraud and overpayments since it was set up, new figures show. |
Jenrick unveils extra funding to help house vulnerable people
20/07/2020 Councils are being encouraged to apply for the government’s £266m fund to help vulnerable people move into long-term accommodation. |
Councils call for clarity on income guarantee
17/07/2020 Council leaders have urged the Government to provide further details on the promised compensation for loss of income due to the pandemic. |
Council launches UK’s first local government green bond
16/07/2020 The UK’s first local government green bond has been launched by West Berkshire Council. |
OBR issues warning on soaring care and council costs
14/07/2020 Soaring costs for adult social care along with indebted local authorities struggling to balance their budgets post-virus are among the key risks to the Government's spending plans warns the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) today. |
Calls to devolve £5.2bn flood defences funding
14/07/2020 Councils have called for funding for flood defences to be devolved to local areas, after the Government announced its new long-term plan to tackle flooding in England. |
Councils issue warning over £730m of unspent EU funding
13/07/2020 Nearly a quarter of the European Social Fund is at risk of being sent back to Brussels, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said. |
Councils yet to hand out £1.7bn of business grant money
09/07/2020 Councils are yet to distribute £1.7bn of funding given to them to support small businesses through the pandemic, new figures have revealed. |
Chancellor unveils his three-part plan for jobs
08/07/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the next phase of his plan to ‘protect, support and retain’ jobs in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. |
Call for £5.5bn to level up access to urban green spaces
07/07/2020 The prime minister has been urged to invest £5.5bn to 'level up' access to urban green spaces by a coalition of councils, city leaders and charities. |
Government unveils £1.57bn rescue package for arts and culture
06/07/2020 The Government has announced a £1.57bn funding package to help cultural and heritage organisations survive the coronavirus crisis. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
