Local Government Finance

(asked on 9th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial reserves of each of (1) Belfast, (2) Birmingham, (3) Bristol, (4) Cardiff, (5) Glasgow, (6) Leeds, (7) Liverpool, (8) Manchester, (9) Newcastle, (10) Nottingham, and (11) Sheffield, local authorities; and what information they hold on such reserves in each case.


Answered by
Lord Greenhalgh Portrait
Lord Greenhalgh
This question was answered on 23rd December 2020

The Department collects and publishes reserves data as part of annual data returns from local authorities in England. These figures can be found (attached) in the individual local authority data at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing, in table RA of budget data, and in table RS of outturn data. The latest published reserves figures from these local authorities are shown in the table.

Non-ringfenced reserves at 31 March 2020 of requested local authorities

Other earmarked reserves (£m)

Unallocated reserves (£m)

Birmingham

463.8

133.0

Bristol

80.6

17.0

Leeds

66.7

31.5

Liverpool

96.8

5.7

Manchester

348.7

21.4

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

87.7

10.1

Nottingham

153.7

2.2

Sheffield

252.1

13.2

Source: Provisional Revenue Outturn 2019-20 returns from local authorities in England to MHCLG

We also collect information on use of reserves in our Local Authority COVID-19 financial monitoring survey. The eighth round of the survey was live between 4th and 11th December.

The financial position of councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the relevant devolved administration.

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