Latest news with #JonathanCarr-West
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- General
- South Wales Argus
Nominations open for Cllr Awards 2025 ahead of ceremonies
The 2025 Cllr Awards, organised by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) and CCLA, celebrate the dedication and impact of councillors across England, Wales, and Scotland who have made a real difference in their communities. Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of LGIU, said: "LGIU is delighted to once again present the annual Cllr Awards, a celebration of the outstanding commitment and creativity shown by our locally elected officials. "Councillors play a crucial role in the wellbeing of our communities. "Though much of their work happens quietly behind the scenes and without fanfare, their contributions are vital." Anyone can submit a nomination, including members of the public, fellow councillors, and council officers. Nominations must highlight a councillor's exceptional work over the past year and how it has positively impacted their community. The award categories include Community Champion, Leader of the Year, Young Councillor of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Lifetime Legend. Shortlisted candidates will be announced in the autumn. Winners will be revealed at ceremonies in Glasgow and London on November 5 and November 18. Nominations are open until midnight on Wednesday, June 11.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will a 10% tax hike help tackle soaring debts?
Bradford Council will vote later on raising council tax by 9.9% as it faces rising costs and debts which are expected to reach £1bn by 2030. It will also consider cuts worth £42m in the next financial year. The BBC examines the reasons behind the council's fiscal woes. The council's borrowing has been prompted by a drop in government funding which it says has seen £350m cut from its budget since 2010/11. Last year, the authority was granted government permission to borrow more, and sell off more of its surplus land and buildings, to keep essential services running and avoid effective bankruptcy. That emergency borrowing is predicted to grow considerably as the graph below shows. A report by the council's senior finance officer also states that rising debts will see the authority owe in excess of £1bn by 2030, rising from less than £400m in 2021/22. Most of the current debt relates to capital projects, schemes such as Bradford Live and One City Park, which have been funded through government grants, loans, or a combination of the two. The report states that it is increasingly relying on borrowing to run core services and 20p in every £1 will ultimately go towards debt repayment in future. The costs of running services is also increasing, especially in children's services. Despite being removed from direct council control and placed under an independent trust, its costs continue to spiral.. Bradford is one of several English councils with debts exceeding or likely to exceed £1bn. Birmingham City Council owes almost £3bn, and others such as Woking, Croydon and Spelthorne have similar debts. Having a large debt is itself not an indication of financial troubles - as larger authorities will inevitably have larger borrowing needs - but in many recent cases, debts have posed serious problems. Across the country, the picture for council finances has been dire for several years, leading to the government announcing a major shake-up of how local authorities are run. Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, said its State of Local Government Finance report laid bare what he said was the "dire situation facing councils across England". "It is no surprise that councils are having to pull all levers to balance their books," he said. "This underlines a fundamentally flawed system for funding local government and one that needs to be radically reformed if we want to avoid an endless cycle of crisis management moving forward." If the 9.99% council tax rise is approved later, an average Band D household in Bradford will face a rise of £170 this year. Other authorities in West Yorkshire plan to raise theirs but only by the normal maximum of 4.99%. Leeds' Band D bills are set to rise by £86 a year and Kirklees by £93. The annual increase will be £85 in Wakefield and £108 for Band D households in Calderdale. Bradford was one of six councils granted permission by the government earlier in the year to propose council tax rises above the usual maximum of 4.99%. The proposed rise has led to a series of protests and political opponents have also argued the hike could have been avoided. Bradford University student Taz Chowdhury, 21, was at one of the protests and said considering a 10% tax rise in one of the country's poorest cities was "egregious". "I don't think it's appropriate or acceptable, and we have to fight back," she said. Maureen Gorst and Jjeneen Sherrington were also among those demonstrating. They said public services were "failing" and "broken" and rising living costs were a worry for everyone. "I am 66, I retired a year ago, and I still have to have two jobs to manage," Ms Gorst said. Ms Sherrington questioned the appropriateness of spending on public art and UK City of Culture in the current economic climate. "I can't afford it," she added of the 10% council tax rise. Sarah Siree also joined a protest with her 10-year-old son and said she was already struggling as a single parent. "There's nothing left at the end of the month. Where do they think people are going to get this extra money from?" Labour council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said reducing reliance on borrowing was at the heart of the authority's financial recovery plans. She said increasing the council tax to 9. 99% as a one-off would actually help "make sure that we save the council taxpayers £111m worth of borrowing over the next 20 years". "We're already trying to reduce that borrowing to make it more manageable, not just for now, not just for next year, but for our children and our grandchildren," she said. She said the tax made a "huge contribution" and the council was between a "rock and a hard place". "We don't want to do this increase in council tax, but we know it's the right thing to do, not just for now, but for the future." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Why do councils go bust and what happens when they do? Town Hall debt levels staggering, MPs warn Protest over plans for 9.99% council tax hike English councils to get £700m top-up next year Council approves £40m cuts citing poor funding Bradford Council
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Councils fear shake-up won't improve finances, survey suggests
A large portion of council leaders fear a major shake-up of local government will not solve the financial pressures their authorities are facing, a survey has are streamlining local government by merging councils and setting up single authorities that provide all the services in their a survey by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) think tank suggested there was low support for it among council leaders, with less than a quarter of those who responded believing the changes would ease their financial challenges.A government spokesperson said reorganisation was "a tough choice" but "the right one" to improve the sustainability and resilience of local authorities. Councils have been under financial pressure for some time.A recent report by the National Audit Office found funding had failed to keep pace with growing demand for services - particularly social care, support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and temporary government has increased the amount of money available to councils, and has promised to reform the way their funding government says the reorganisation will streamline and simplify services, make savings and create structures that will allow more powers to be handed down to council leaders and in some areas the plans have proved controversial. Short-term pressure A survey of council leaders and senior officials, carried out by the LGIU, found many thought the plans were unclear, the timescales were not achievable and while the plans might produce long-term savings, they would add to pressure on councils in the 23% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that the reorganisation would alleviate the financial challenges facing survey received responses from 150 councils out of 317 in think tank's chief executive, Jonathan Carr-West, said: "On the one hand, the government has had some success in resetting the central-local relationship and there is near consensus that the promised multi-year settlements will benefit council finances."Conversely, many councils are anticipating that reorganisation and the increase in National Insurance Contributions will heap added pressure onto already overextended council budgets."The LGIU said the problems were not "insurmountable", calling for councils to be more involved and more "manageable" timescales. The restructuring of local councils started in some places under the last Conservative government, with Labour planning to extend it across all of would mean areas with two-tiers of councils, both county and district, would be replaced with single "unitary" councils that provide all services, with more regional month the government agreed to delay local elections that were due to take place in May in nine council areas to allow them to some, it's a welcome move that will make help councils deliver services more Oliver, chairman of County Councils Network, which represents larger local authorities in England, said: "Financial pressures, coupled with the structural weaknesses and the public's confusion of the multi-tier system, means that it has become impossible to justify."The government's timelines for proposals for change are ambitious, but county councils and their partners are working hard to match these and deliver forward-looking proposals for new unitary councils."Others – including the District Councils' Network, which represents smaller authorities – have warned it would create a period of "turmoil".While there's some disagreement about the government's plans to reshape local councils, many across the sector say the bigger challenge is addressing the underlying financial pressures they the financial year from April, 30 councils have been given "exceptional financial support" to help them balance the books, with many councils planning on increasing council tax and cutting services.A government spokesperson said it is making £69bn of funding available to councils across England - which includes council tax rises."This government inherited a crumbling local government sector," the spokesperson said."We are prepared to take tough choices necessary to rebuild local government and give taxpayers the services they deserve."
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council has £300m property debt despite sell-off
A local authority has to pay off nearly £300m of loans with interest despite selling the properties bought with the money. Somerset Council is in the process of selling the shops and offices in its commercial property portfolio, which it inherited, along with the loan debt, from former district councils. But it has had to spend the proceeds on services such as adult social care, following its warnings that it could go effectively bankrupt. A council spokesperson said it was "clearly in the taxpayers' interest" to sell the properties rather than borrow more money. More news stories for Somerset Listen to the latest news for Somerset The council's properties ranged from an M&S building in Yeovil, to offices in Bristol, business parks including Street Retail Park, a TK Maxx in Worcester, and an NCP car park in Bournemouth. The district councils that were replaced by Somerset Council in 2023 along with the county council bought the properties with £298m in loans as part of an investment strategy taken by a number of English local authorities. The £298m sum included fees and stamp duty as well as the cost of the properties. The councils hoped to rent out the properties and use the money to run local public services. However, just months after Somerset Council was created, it declared a "financial emergency" and said it would sell off 48 properties. It was given special permission by the government to spend the proceeds on running day-to-day services like adult social care and children's services. But the portfolio has significantly lost value due to falling market prices in recent years. At the end of March 2024, the council's properties, including any already sold, were valued at £219m – a £78m loss on the initial investment. As of 31 December 2024, Somerset Council has sold properties for £76m that cost £104m to buy, a £27m loss. The £76m has been spent on day-to-day services in 2024/25, and the £104m debt remains with the council. The council will also have lost the rental income from those properties. Only around £18m of the debt arising from the property loans had, in March 2024, been paid off. The purchases were largely funded by borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board, which the current council is responsible for repaying with interest. It makes these payments from its revenue budget. Jonathan Carr-West, of the Local Government Information Unit think tank, said councils had been encouraged to invest in commercial property by the government but many found the purchases "exacerbated their financial problems". The council spokesperson called for the government to take "urgent action to fix the system of funding local government which is fundamentally broken". Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. £47m cuts will impact on services - council leader Council sells off more than £71m of property Somerset Council says government cash not enough Local authority declares financial emergency Council may sell properties amid bankruptcy fears Somerset Council investment strategy report
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council has £300m property debt despite sell-off
A local authority has to pay off nearly £300m of loans with interest despite selling the properties bought with the money. Somerset Council is in the process of selling the shops and offices in its commercial property portfolio, which it inherited, along with the loan debt, from former district councils. But it has had to spend the proceeds on services such as adult social care, following its warnings that it could go effectively bankrupt. A council spokesperson said it was "clearly in the taxpayers' interest" to sell the properties rather than borrow more money. More news stories for Somerset Listen to the latest news for Somerset The council's properties ranged from an M&S building in Yeovil, to offices in Bristol, business parks including Street Retail Park, a TK Maxx in Worcester, and an NCP car park in Bournemouth. The district councils that were replaced by Somerset Council in 2023 along with the county council bought the properties with £298m in loans as part of an investment strategy taken by a number of English local authorities. The £298m sum included fees and stamp duty as well as the cost of the properties. The councils hoped to rent out the properties and use the money to run local public services. However, just months after Somerset Council was created, it declared a "financial emergency" and said it would sell off 48 properties. It was given special permission by the government to spend the proceeds on running day-to-day services like adult social care and children's services. But the portfolio has significantly lost value due to falling market prices in recent years. At the end of March 2024, the council's properties, including any already sold, were valued at £219m – a £78m loss on the initial investment. As of 31 December 2024, Somerset Council has sold properties for £76m that cost £104m to buy, a £27m loss. The £76m has been spent on day-to-day services in 2024/25, and the £104m debt remains with the council. The council will also have lost the rental income from those properties. Only around £18m of the debt arising from the property loans had, in March 2024, been paid off. The purchases were largely funded by borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board, which the current council is responsible for repaying with interest. It makes these payments from its revenue budget. Jonathan Carr-West, of the Local Government Information Unit think tank, said councils had been encouraged to invest in commercial property by the government but many found the purchases "exacerbated their financial problems". The council spokesperson called for the government to take "urgent action to fix the system of funding local government which is fundamentally broken". Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. £47m cuts will impact on services - council leader Council sells off more than £71m of property Somerset Council says government cash not enough Local authority declares financial emergency Council may sell properties amid bankruptcy fears Somerset Council investment strategy report
