Councils urged to stop using pension funds to invest in factory farming
Five companies fined £33m over prepaid cards cartel
Council-backed energy firm collapses
Khan eyes pay-per-mile fix for capital’s emissions
Local audit’s perfect storm
Has the local audit system finally reached its breaking point? Naomi Larsson investigates.
Parish leaders call for council tax referendum exemption
17/01/2022 Local council leaders have called on the Government to grant parish and town councils a multi-year exemption on council tax referendum principles. |
Gove closes tax loophole on second homes
14/01/2022 A loophole that allows second home owners to avoid paying council tax by falsely claiming their properties are holidays lets will be closed under new measures. |
Local councils call for access to same funding pots as principal authorities
12/01/2022 Parish and town council leaders have called for local councils to have access to the same funding initiatives as principal authorities. |
Council finances fared better than expected in COVID crisis, says IFS
11/01/2022 The cost of COVID for councils has been far less than expected, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found. |
Fund planners to solve housing crisis - Lords
07/01/2022 Peers have said council planning departments must be better resourced to prevent an ‘emerging crisis’. |
Councils to deliver £700m grants to businesses hit by Omicron
07/01/2022 Councils will deliver £700m to businesses most affected by the Omicron variant in the next few weeks, the Government has announced. |
Leicester aims for workplace parking levy by 2023
07/01/2022 Leicester City Council has announced plans to introduce a workplace parking levy based on the Nottingham model. |
Regulator fines Mazar £314,000 for audit failures
06/01/2022 The Financial Reporting Council has fined Mazars LLP £314,000 for failures relating to an audit of an unnamed local authority’s 2019 financial statements. |
Council-backed energy firm close to collapse
05/01/2022 Together Energy, which is 50% owned by Warrington Council, is close to running out of funding, according to reports. |
Scottish settlement ‘worst seen’ by leaders
23/12/2021 Council leaders in Scotland are demanding a meeting with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over funding for next year. |
Welsh government confirms £120m for Omicron-hit businesses
23/12/2021 Wales’ First Minister has confirmed that the Welsh government will make £120m available for nightclubs, retail, and other businesses affected by COVID-19. |
Holyrood announces £21m events support package
23/12/2021 The Scottish government has announced a £21m support package to support cultural and events organisations and freelancers. |
Cultural sector to get £30m winter boost
22/12/2021 Theatres, museums and other organisations in the cultural sector will be able to draw on an extra £30m to help them through winter, Government says. |
Councils to get £100m to support businesses hit by Omicron
22/12/2021 Council leaders have welcomed the Government’s announcement that £100m will be made available for local authorities to support businesses affected by COVID-19. |
Government announces £316m funding boost to tackle homelessness
21/12/2021 The Government today announced a multi-million-pound package which will be allocated to local authorities according to the level of homelessness in their area. |
Welsh councils win £750m funding boost
20/12/2021 The Welsh Government has included a £743m increase in funding for councils in its latest budget. |
School cuts without precedent in ‘post-war UK history’
17/12/2021 School leaders have welcomed the Government’s confirmation of £4bn of funding but warn this ‘falls well short’ of what schools need to make up for past cuts. |
Mayor Khan calls for COVID business support
17/12/2021 Mayor Khan has joined business leaders from across the capital in urging the Government to support businesses hit by the new COVID-19 restrictions. |
Gove unveils £54bn finance settlement
16/12/2021 The provisional local government finance settlement for 2022-23 represents an additional £3.5bn or 4% increase in real terms compared to 2021-22. |
Nottingham issues Section 114 over 'unlawful' finances
16/12/2021 Nottingham CC has issued a Section 114 notice following the discovery that it unlawfully diverted cash from its housing revenue account to general funds. |
Government criticised for plug-in grant cut
16/12/2021 The Government is facing criticism for its decision to cut the plug-in car and van grant by up to £1,000 and change the eligibility criteria. |
Council ‘named and shamed’ for not paying minimum wage
14/12/2021 Hampshire County Council has been named as one of over 200 employers who do not pay their lowest paid workers the minimum wage. |
Councils call for extension to outbreak funding
13/12/2021 Councils have urged the Government to extend its COVID-19 outbreak funding to support local contact tracing. |
Counties face funding shortfall of over £500m next year
10/12/2021 County councils are facing a funding gap of over £500m in 2022 resulting in council tax rises or service cuts, leaders have warned today. |
Plans for council tax reform in Wales
07/12/2021 The Welsh Government has confirmed it will consult on council tax reforms plans next year to 'modernise' the system. |
Largest ever funding boost to tackle drug misuse
07/12/2021 All local authorities in England are set to receive new funding to tackle drug and alcohol misuse over the next three years. |
Nottingham uncovers serious finance error
03/12/2021 Nottingham City Council is taking urgent action after uncovering a serious accounting error while it battles with its failing finances. |
Liverpool Council refinances £65m LOBO loan
02/12/2021 Liverpool City Council has completed a debt refinancing deal in a move that will save £15.8m. |
Combined authority launches £18m fund to boost green investment
01/12/2021 The North of Tyne Combined Authority has joined with an infrastructure investment group to launch an £18m Green New Deal Fund (GNDF). |
Funding allocated to plant hundreds of thousands of trees
29/11/2021 Over £12m funding has been allocated to plant hundreds of thousands of trees across England. |
Bus operators warn of £5bn funding gap
26/11/2021 Bus operators have warned of a multi-billion-pound funding gap between plans by local authorities and bus operators to improve services and the funding promised by the Government. |
Majority of schools ‘financially sustainable’ despite pressures
25/11/2021 The financial health of the school system has held up well in recent years despite funding pressures which have led to staffing cuts and changes to special educational needs provision. |
MPs launch inquiry into collection of council tax arrears
24/11/2021 An inquiry into how local authorities in England collect council tax arrears has been launched by MPs. |
West Midlands to receive £6.5m to boost sports
18/11/2021 The West Midlands are to receive a £6.5m injection of cash to help improve facilities and level up access to community sport as part of the legacy of next summer’s Commonwealth Games. |
Government confirms £1m fund to tackle bullying
16/11/2021 Thousands of schools in England are set to benefit from further support and training to help pupils combat bullying, the Government today announced. |
Wales tops economic vitality index
16/11/2021 A new economic vitality index has revealed that Wales managed to weather the COVID-19 pandemic better than the UK’s other home countries. |
Scottish councils need extra £1bn to 'survive'
16/11/2021 Councils in Scotland need more than an extra £1bn a year just to survive, a new briefing has warned. |
Welsh government announces £51m package to tackle cost-of-living crisis
16/11/2021 The Welsh government has announced a £51m package of support in order to help families facing the cost-of-living crisis pay their bills this winter. |
Projects secure funding to improve safety of women at night
11/11/2021 Projects that aim to improve the safety of women and girls in public spaces at night have been awarded £5m funding from the Government. |
Councils warn investment in bus services is vital to meet climate targets
10/11/2021 The Government must fully fund the concessionary bus fares scheme if councils are to decarbonise fleets, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
13 councils chosen to pilot new ways of working
09/11/2021 The Government has announced which 13 councils in England have been chosen to trial new ways of working to help target specific issues in local areas. |
IFS reveals scope of Universal Credit
08/11/2021 Budget changes to Universal Credit mean families with well above-average earnings and even paying 40% rates of tax could be entitled to the benefit, according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report. |
LEP 'at risk' over funding uncertainty
08/11/2021 The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership has warned it has reached 'crisis point' after only receiving half the funds promised from the Government so far this year. |
Local government needs £68bn to become net zero, report finds
08/11/2021 Local government will need an up-front investment of £68bn from Government in order to become net zero by 2035, according to a new report. |
Infrastructure funding worth £624m opens to house builders
05/11/2021 Loan funding of at least £624m will be made available to house builders to deliver up to 116,000 new homes, the Government has announced. |
Government allocates £200m Community Renewal Funding
04/11/2021 The Government has announced which projects will receive a share of the £200m Community Renewal Funding, and has given local authorities extra time to spend the money. |
Councils urged to divest pension funds
03/11/2021 Campaigners are staging protests across the UK today, calling for councils to divest pension funds from fossil fuels. |
Peterborough and Wirral yet to 'grasp scale' of their financial challenges, minister warns
02/11/2021 The Government is concerned Peterborough City Council and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council have not yet fully grasped the scale of the financial challenge they both face. |
Over 400,000 firms 'stuck' in business rates appeal system
02/11/2021 More than 400,000 businesses are stuck in the business rates appeal system waiting for COVID-19 reliefs, a real estate company has warned. |
Powys' savings off target
01/11/2021 Powys CC’s savings plans are 22% off target more than halfway through the financial year, senior councillors have been warned. |
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.
