Local Government Chronicle

Butlers advised six of hardest hit councils: Local Government Chronicle

Six of the seven councils facing the largest potential losses from investments in Icelandic banks were advised by one firm, Butler’s, analysis by LGC reveals. Only Haringey of the most affected seven local authorities was advised by another firm, Sector Treasury.
 
Asked for an explanation, Butler’s representative, Mike Sheard – the communications director of parent company [...]

Credit ratings agencies face examination: Local Government Chronicle

Nigh on one billion pounds buys an awful lot of bucks, even at current exchange rates. And there is a hell a lot of buck-passing going on when it comes to accepting responsibility for the £920m of investments and deposits in Icelandic banks potentially lost by local authorities.
 
Councils say they relied on credit ratings agencies’ [...]

Council pension schemes are next victim: Local Government Chronicle

Meltdown in the global financial markets has hit local government pension schemes hard. Not only are they all badly affected by the vicious fall in share prices, but some held direct investments in institutions and securities that collapsed in value.
 
Perhaps surprisingly, the failure of the giant US investment bank Lehman Brothers has brought some of [...]

NI council reorganisation announced: Local Government Chronicle

Belfast City Council will take over parts of neighbouring Lisburn, Castlereagh and North Down districts under plans to reform local government in Northern Ireland. A new Newry and Down District Council will cover the whole of the Mournes Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including some of the existing Banbridge district.
 
The reorganisation of local government will [...]

Finding SOLACE in Belfast: Local Government Chronicle

 
SOLACE delegates who have not visited Belfast for a few years will be amazed as they look out from the windows of the Waterfront Hall during this week’s [next week's] annual conference. Below them is the emerging ‘Titanic Quarter’ – Europe’s largest waterfront development.
 
The last time SOLACE held its conference in Belfast was 11 years [...]

The end is nigh - for final salary schemes: Local Government Chronicle

 
Local government’s final salary pension scheme will cease to exist within four years. That is the dramatic prediction of authorities’ own pension fund managers and other senior council finance officials.
 
A survey of participants at recent seminars organised by fund advisers Mercer found that 75% believe that the current final salary scheme will not exist by [...]

Listening to the children: Local Government Chronicle

 
Children in care
Children in care are now more likely to be listened to by local authorities, but more needs to be done to make more children in care feel safe, according to the first Children’s Care Monitor report. While children are able for the first time to report regularly on their experiences, too many – [...]

Tees Valley – a natural MAA: Local Government Chronicle

 
Tees Valley – a natural MAA
 
 
It was natural for Tees Valley’s five unitary authorities to favour the multi-area agreement approach – they have been working together in a similar way for more than a decade. It was back in 1996 that the unitary authorities of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees set-up the [...]

Bringing Greater Manchester back together: Local Government Chronicle

 

Bringing Greater Manchester back together
Greater Manchester’s ability to operate beyond the boundaries of a single local authority has been clearly proved. The 10 metropolitan authorities together own and run a particularly successful regional airport and they have come up with a radical proposal for a peak-time congestion charge that is even more ambitious than that [...]

Bringing order to statistics: Local Government Chronicle

The creation of the UK Statistics Authority aims to put an end to controversy surrounding statistics. By Paul Gosling
A new body is bringing a breath of fresh air to the often fusty atmosphere of national statistics. Gone is the discredited ministerial oversight of national statistics. In its place, a new and more independent body has been [...]