On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
The LGA has significant concerns with the Local Authorities (Borrowing and Investment) Bill which seeks to restrict the acquisition of land and property by councils outside their own boundaries. The Bill also seeks to limit local authorities’ investment in “commercial risk-taking enterprises” and limit council borrowing for non-core activities.
Local audit and local auditors need to be adequately skilled and have an adequate understanding of local government. It also needs to focus on areas that add value rather than on work that is not a priority for local government. It has previously been highlighted (for example in the report of the Redmond review) that many believe that the current focus on asset and pension valuations is inappropriate.
This submission makes the case to Government for a radical reinvestment in local and combined authorities that enables councils to turbo-charge local growth and create preventative public services that save money and improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our society.
The evidence of the financial strain on councils has been growing. The settlement does not provide enough funding to meet the severe cost and demand pressures which have left councils of all political colours and types warning of the serious challenges they face to set balanced budgets next year. Councils in England continue to face a funding gap of £4 billion across this year and next. The 2024/25 provisional settlement does not change the funding gap facing councils.
While the Local Government Association welcomes an overall increase in baseline funding for local authorities, we express concern that a significant proportion of the increase in core spending power for 2023/24 has been achieved through a combination of potentially one-off grants, ring-fenced funding, re-allocation of existing funding, and the assumption that local authorities will implement council tax increases. We continue to make the case for multi-year settlements and for more long-term certainty around funding and budgets.
We welcome the publication of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) policy statement, setting out final rules for their implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).
The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data sharing exercise has been supported by local authorities for several decades now. It has an important place in counter fraud activities, as well as work to recover and reduce error and debt.
We note that there are several instances where changes to the Code are being considered in order to bring it into line with international standards, but that the proposal is that the specific changes will not be made because they are not relevant to local authorities. We strongly support this approach. It is our view that international standards should be applied when necessary but will only add complexity if applied when not relevant.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will give the Secretary of State significant additional powers to review and intervene in individual councils, and ultimately to be able to make strong directions, such as capping borrowing or forcing the sale of specific assets.