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A recent legal battle over the transparency of Thurrock Council’s £815m debt-leveraged investments in solar power bonds highlights the importance of understanding and managing balance sheet risk in the public sector. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has won an appeal against a ruling by the Information Commissioner that Thurrock Council does not have to disclose details about its investments in solar power projects. Thurrock has until 12 April to provide the information requested, although it may not have to answer all of the questions asked if it can provide alterna...

Proposal for stronger local government Prudential Code Proposals to strengthen the Prudential Code and prevent local authorities from borrowing to generate yield have been put forward by CIPFA. The move comes following growing concerns that some councils are taking on disproportionate levels of commercial debt to generate yield. The proposed changes would make it clear that borrowing for debt-for-yield investment is not permissible under the Prudential Code, and ensure that any commercial investment is consistent with statutory provisions. The changes would also see the introduction of new pr...

Councils are facing more tightly defined rules on commercial investment in a bid to bring a minority making risky decisions into line and avoid government intervention. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy this morning launched a consultation on amendments to the Prudential Code which would spell out in stronger terms that councils should not borrow purely to generate income. The code, which councils are required to have regard to by law, could also be amended to strengthen requirements on assessing affordability of commercial activity within councils’ commercial strategi...