Councils Increasingly Look To HRAs For Capital Spend

Councils are increasingly funding capital spending through their Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) or major repairs reserves as government funding has decreased, a National Audit Office (NAO) report has found. Since 2010/11, funding from the HRA or major repairs reserves to support capital spending has increased by 58%. In 2010/11 £1.4bn came from HRAs, compared to £2.2bn in 2014/15. The NAO’s report looks at how councils’ capital funding and spending has changed since 2010, when the government started to reduce funding for local government. It found there are increasing pressures from capital spending and if authorities “cannot reduce their capital costs… it will place further pressure on their revenue spending”. Download the report from the NAO website.

Housing Headlines From Budget 2016

1.       the launch of a Starter Homes Land Fund Prospectus, which will provide local authorities with £1.2bn of funding to make existing brownfield sites fit for housing;

2.       the acceleration of affordable home building via the bringing forward of £250m of capital spending to the 2017-18 and 2018-19;

3.       a streamlined planning system designed to minimise the delays that can hinder the planning process.

4.       releasing public sector land for house building purposes, including a specific partnership between the HCA and Network Rail to provide land surrounding railway stations.

5.       a commitment to legislation making it easier for local authorities to collaborate in the creation of new garden settlements.

6.       the reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on non-residential property transactions

Read more on the Forbes Solicitors website.