Local government funding and financial management.
This briefing is part of a series reviewing the reports of the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC). This briefing provides an overview of the findings of NOAC’s 8th national report which examines the financial performance of local authorities between the years 2013 and 2015.
The Accounts Commission’s Financial Overview 2018/19 was published in December 2019. The report is published annually and examines Scottish councils’ budgets and spending, analysing their financial position and commenting on their financial outlook for the years ahead. This briefing looks at the issues identified in each section of the report and summarises the key findings,…
EY, the professional services consultancy have collaborated with the Centre for Towns think tank on a report on trends in foreign direction investment in the UK’s towns. Drawing on EY’s annual UK Attractiveness Survey data, the report examines how foreign direct investment (FDI) from 1997 to 2018 has been distributed across the UK.
The second Queen’s Speech of the year provided confirmation of the commitments made in the General Election campaign, as well as a few surprises in the form of reviews and Commissions. Here is what’s relevant for English local government.
This briefing considers issues relating to housing affordability and credit in the context of the debate regarding the Central Bank’s mortgage lending rules. Relaxation of the rules could be rationalised from particular perspectives. In the short term, it would help some to purchase and would boost activity in various “property”-related services. However, given housing supply…
With the general election looming, we hear from councillors who’ve been out on the doorstep. Cllr Abi Brown, Leader of Stoke-on-Trent, and Cllr Michael Payne, Deputy Leader of Gedling and Chair of LGiU, tell us what this election could mean for local government, what should be prioritised by the new Government and how councils can…
This briefing explores the historical context for local finances around the world and summarises the recommendations made by the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Europe and UN-Habitat to strengthen municipal budgets.
This briefing deals with the IFS 2019 Green Budget which the IFS normally publishes about a month before the Government’s annual Budget; the 2019 Green Budget was published on 8 October 2019, six days before the announcement on 14 October of a 2019 Budget for 6 November, which has since been postponed. This briefing will…
The Expenditure Report for Budget 2020 sets out the Irish Government’s voted expenditure allocations and measures for 2020.
Party conference season is over for another year and much ink has been spilled over the headline announcements. However, LGiU used the conferences as an opportunity to catch up with our members, council leaders and policy-makers about their views on the challenges facing local government. We’ve been looking at how national policy announcements match up…