Local government funding and financial management.
This briefing is the latest in our series examining the reports produced by the Value for Money Unit of the LGAS. The briefing examines the VFMU report produced in December 2015 titled “The oversight role of local authorities in the provision of social housing by Approved Housing Bodies (AHB s)”. This was the VFMU’s 29th…
Every elected councillor is responsible for ensuring that their council has effective financial governance, yet local government finance is viewed by many as difficult to get to grips with. These online training sessions are designed to provide elected councillors with a thorough grounding in the key elements of local government finance and funding.
Local governments are under pressure from their communities to minimise rate increases and provide stimulus packages for their local economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This briefing is focussed on how Victorian local governments have responded to COVID-19 in their 2020-21 budgets, based on a survey undertaken by Local Government Finance Professionals, a peak body that…
This briefing is the next in our series briefly examining the VFM (value for money) reports that are now being carried out by the LGAS (the local government audit service) on a regular basis. This briefing will examine the VFM report produced by the LGAS in March 2019 entitled “An Overview of Interest Only Loans…
Towards the end of July, H.M. Treasury published a Call for Evidence as part of the review of business rates announced in Budget 2020. We consider whether there is anything new in it and what councils could do to respond to it.
This briefing introduces the concept of Community Wealth Building: an inclusive model for economic development focussed on creating sustainable local economies that generate wealth and keep that wealth circulating in the local economy
More services are being provided in-house by local and central government, with Covid-19 accelerating the move away from outsourcing. But has outsourcing really had its day? A new Institute for Government report sets out what councils should ask when deciding whether to insource.
In this Swift Read we examine briefly the environmental, social and financial cases for local government divestment from fossil fuels, before looking at steps that councillors and officers can take to support a green shift in pension fund portfolios.
What are the overall legal and best practice requirements for local government finance and budgeting, and their potential application in light of Covid-19? This briefing has been updated in the light of the new funding package for councils announced on the 2 July 2020.
NSW councils amalgamated in 2016 were subject to a ‘rates freeze’ limiting increases and delaying harmonisation of rating systems. This briefing describes some of the background and challenges to the rates harmonisation process for amalgamated councils in NSW, and to identifies potential strategies to address these.