Local authority external audits in England are unique in the way they operate. They are more legalistic than the audits of companies and they extend beyond the focus on...
The Auditor General for Wales is responsible for the audit of the accounts of local government bodies in Wales as part of their overall responsibilities for public...
Empty properties: rates With effect from 1 April 2008 there is: • 100% relief for a qualifying industrial hereditament for the first six months that they are empty...
Capital finance differs from revenue finance as revenue expenditure has to be met from current income whereas capital expenditure can be met by borrowing or capital...
This tracker is intended to be used to track key developments, legislation, guidance, parliamentary briefing notes and other sources of interest relating to coronavirus...
What is Council tax and what is its purpose? The council tax was introduced as the primary source of collecting income from local residents by local authorities in...
Council tax was introduced as the primary source of collecting income from local residents by local authorities in England on 1 April 1993. The legislation also covers...
Local authorities have complex financial arrangements, allocating resources and controlling spending across a wide range of services and managing diverse sources of...
This Practice Note covers the local authority housing revenue account (HRA) in England. Technically the HRA legislation embraces only local housing authorities (LHAs) as...
The Local Government Finance Act 1988 (LGFA 1988) identifies three categories of ratepayer: • occupiers • owners, and • persons named in central rating lists Occupiers An...
What are business rates? Business rates are a tax on property used for business purposes. They are charged on most non-domestic properties, such as shops, offices and...
Basic Principles/Instructions for claiming 1 Statutory power for compiling an elected members’ allowance scheme The council, in exercise of the powers conferred by the...
This Practice Note is one of a series of Practice Notes covering National non-domestic rates (NNDR). It covers billing and recovery, the collection fund, transitional...
Business improvement districts Section 41 of the Local Government Act 2003 (LGA 2003), provides for the introduction of business improvement districts (BIDs). This allows...
As a tax on property, rates have existed in some form since 1601. The framework currently in place was largely established by the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (LGFA...
Local authorities, in line with most public sector organisations, must manage their affairs within defined budgets. As bodies with largely defined spending parameters,...
Local authorities in England and Wales have extensive powers to borrow money and to make investments. How they do this is largely determined by the Local Government Act...