Mike O'Donnell

The 'Local government finance workforce action plan for England' by CIPFA and LGA calls for national, regional & local action to ensure #LocalGov finance teams can meet growing demand. The report outlines four key recommendations: - Boost leadership capacity and capability - Attract and recruit the right staff - Develop staff - Create the right environment to deliver

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My @UK National Audit Office colleagues have published a new report investigating delays to @Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’s Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP). https://lnkd.in/eua4yjU7 🧓 Pensions dashboards could help 16m+ people in the UK safely view info about their pensions online. ⌛️ But it's not known when the public will have access due to delays to the PDP, which aims to provide the IT infrastructure needed to make the dashboards work. ❓ @Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is responsible for delivering the PDP on behalf of DWP – but it has experienced capacity and capability issues, including a shortage of digital skills and ineffective governance. 🗓️ These factors have contributed to the final deadline for pension schemes to connect to the PDP being pushed back to 2026 - one year later than originally planned. 📈 Meanwhile, the estimated cost has increased by 23%. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eua4yjU7

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At Doncaster Chamber's Board meeting yesterday, we were pleased to be joined by Justin Homer from the Cities and Local Growth Unit (Gov) and Joseph Quinn of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, for a discussion about the UK’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy. This included discussing the outcomes we'd like to see from a successful Industrial Strategy for business and for Doncaster. As I’ve mentioned before in these posts, the Chamber welcomes the fundamental idea of an Industrial Strategy — effectively serving as a business plan for the entire country towards which other policies, plans and initiatives can scaffold — yet we want to make sure that it’s the right strategy for both the here and now, and also for the future. Indeed, we believe it needs to take a long-term view (thinking about issues like AI and Net Zero), but not at the expense of those (sometimes unsexy) industries that are critical to our economy in the present day. In a conversation that spanned multiple different issues, we talked about how the strategy must be cross-departmental, the need for it to encourage more firms to export and internationalise, and how sometimes the best thing Government can do is actually get out of the way. Inevitably, the subject of workforce was also broached, with our directors articulating that the strategy must integrate with the UK’s education and skills system, otherwise the rest of its plans — however well intentioned — are likely to fail. I reflected on the fact that, at a recent skills workshop, someone had stated that there were something like 55x initiatives in Barnsley alone designed to connect people with work. Clutter like this gets in the way and so I hope that for every initiative triggered by the Industrial Strategy, that a dozen hit the cutting room floor. Our Board also stressed the importance of getting the mundane-but-still-crucial functions of Government right. For instance, many of us know from experience that the planning system has got to move a lot faster than it currently does and the same applies for the Land Registry. With employers having recently borne the brunt of Government’s contentious Autumn Budget, now is the time to get these things working as they should. In short, there’s a lot at stake here but also a lot of opportunity. It was a pleasure to talk all of this through with our NEDs, as well as Joseph and Justin. If you want to your own say on the strategy and help inform its development, then I would encourage you to take part in Government’s ongoing consultation on the matter here: https://lnkd.in/dPTJbXJT. Fabian Braithwaite, Jim Carley, Andy Morley, Sarah Naylor, Luke Fermor, Neil Mallinson 🇬🇧, Kelvin Fitton, Pippa Mell, Gemma Peebles, John Rees, Suzy Brain England OBE C Dir, James Woods, Lee Tillman, Michael Wilkinson, Jade Dyer, Harrison Abbott, Sophie Moore

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On 30 July, the Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government laid a written ministerial statement in Parliament setting out proposals to tackle the local audit backlog in England. Today (9 September) the government laid in Parliament two pieces of legislation which give effect to these proposals. The measures, which are supported by all key local audit organisations, include setting a statutory ‘backstop’ date of 13 December 2024 to clear the backlog of unaudited accounts up to and including Financial Year 2022/23. The legislation includes five further backstop dates up to and including financial year 2027/28 to allow assurance to be rebuilt over several audit cycles. https://lnkd.in/eTFhzbfN

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Are you a Tameside organisation or business trading for social good? Are you looking to grow your activities? GMCVO have formed a partnership with the GM Credit Union Consortium, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to deliver local investment with real impact, this follows the success of the Access to Growth Fund which ended in 2022. Any Tameside organisation or business trading for social good and looking to grow their trading activity which has been trading for at least 6 months can apply. The offer: - Unsecured investments between £20,000 & £100,000. - Blended finance; the investment includes a grant of an average of 20% of your total investment. - An initial interest-only period of up to 6 months may be available. To learn more and apply please visit: https://lnkd.in/eaNbrbqh #tmb #tameside #funding #investment #grants #socialgood #makingadifference #businessgrowth #accessfunds #bettertogether Tameside Council

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Hoping that they will understand that certainty of funding (even if the funding picture is grim!) is a good start so a multi-year financial settlement would be a major step forward. Early fair funding review and reducing the competitive bidding pots two further big steps.

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Pension contribution rates paid by councils are expected to fall after next year’s Local Government Pension Scheme triennial valuation. A reduction in employer contributions could save councils millions of pounds, and will be welcomed by cash-strapped local authorities. Employers’ contributions currently average between 14% and 18%, with employers paying roughly three quarters of the Scheme's costs, and employees paying a quarter. Employee contribution rates vary between 5.5% and 12.5% (although the vast majority are below 7%).

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Transformation in #LocalGov is about changing service delivery to achieve better outcomes for local residents & communities, plus delivering value for money. Our toolkit helps councillors to support, enable, make decisions on & scrutinise transformation. https://orlo.uk/prDr4

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Transformation in #LocalGov is about changing service delivery to achieve better outcomes for local residents & communities, plus delivering value for money. Our toolkit helps councillors to support, enable, make decisions on & scrutinise transformation. https://orlo.uk/mWJsj

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MHCLG has updated the Right to Buy guides for both councils and tenants, following the review of Right to Buy discounts announced on 30 October 👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/esQfwwTf https://lnkd.in/eNBh2rhj It has also published guidance on retained Right to Buy receipts and their use for replacement supply: https://lnkd.in/dHrxTrpF The guides provide practitioners with information and good practice, advice and tips on the operation of the Right to Buy scheme. They are not statutory guidance nor intended to be a definitive interpretation of the legislation.

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The Government of Jersey Department for the Economy has now gone live with our invitation to tender for an Open Finance Framework. More details can be found at Channel Islands Tenders (channelislandtenders.com) #OpenFinance #OpenBanking #FinancialServices #Opportunities #Competativeness

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Impact investments are investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Learn how donors can use the assets in their donor-advised funds (DAFs) to make impact investments, which can in turn be granted. #ImpactInvesting #Philanthropy #DAFs #DonorAdvisedFunds

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BREAKING NEWS: Today the Chancellor of the Exchequer made a package of announcements at Mansion House (coinciding with #COP29 Finance Day), with some specific #SustainableFinance announcements that my team and colleagues across government have been working on, with the aim of delivering a world-leading sustainable finance framework. The UK Government committed to: 1. Publish draft legislation to boost investor confidence in sustainable companies by #regulating #ESG #ratings providers; 2. Publish a #consultation on the value case for a #UKGreenTaxonomy; 3. Commit to #consult on economically significant companies disclosing information using future UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (based on International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards) 4. Launch a set of #integrity principles for voluntary carbon and nature markets (VCNMs) ahead of a consultation in the new year.  5. To underpin continued UK leadership on #transitionfinance, the government is delivering one of the key recommendations of the Transition Finance Market Review (led by the excellent Vanessa Havard-Williams) by co-launching the Transition Finance Council with the City of London Corporation 6. The government will also consult in the first half of next year on how best to take forward the manifesto commitment on #transitionplans in support of its ambition to become the global hub for transition finance - ensuring the UK’s regulatory framework is growth-focused, internationally competitive and maintains the UK’s status as a global financial hub. 7. The government has also emphasised the #transition to #netzero in the government’s economic strategy within the remit of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, and reinstated #sustainablefinance as an area the Financial Policy Committee should support as part of its secondary objective.  8. Call for evidence on the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which includes a section on Sustainable Finance These announcements come alongside COP29’s ‘Finance, Investment, and Trade Day’ currently underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. Representing HM Treasury at COP29, Growth Minister Lord Spencer Livermore laid out the UK’s commitment to making the UK the sustainable finance capital of the world, mobilise climate finance from a range of sources and reform the global financial system so it delivers better on climate change.  This follows action at the International Investment Summit and Budget to unlock investment, including £27.8 billion of capitalisation for the National Wealth Fund which is expected to mobilise over £70 billion of private investment. https://lnkd.in/eQMUihYQ Kim Wilkinson Fayyaz Muneer Andrew Death Mike Ashby Debbie Crawshawe Helen Edmundson Jennie Gleed Adriana M. Lizzie Turabi Joanna Luck Maxi Seagroatt Caroline Palluch Leah Harris Daniel M. Shivani Katyal Simon Petley Chris Shipley Hannah Skewes Ashleigh Lee Jamie Armour Felicity Hall Tommy Coyle Zoe Norgate

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Lots to digest in today's budget! https://lnkd.in/etes2zfE The Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards (FISSS) welcome the focus on stimulating economic growth and on long-term funding for growth-driving sectors. The evidence is clear – a government that is serious about achieving its economic growth ambitions also needs to be serious about investing in #skills. The £300m for further education and £40m to transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy are a welcome first step. As government continues to develop its plans, a focus on responding to employer skills needs must remain a priority.

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Some great practical advice here from Gill Pipkin about bid writing. Well worth a read!

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The latest LG improve published accounts tracker for 2023/24 shows half of local authorities in England have now published accounts for 2023/24. This is significantly higher than at the same point last year and, I think, reflects the hard work, focus and tenacity of local government finance teams. But an audit backlog persists and our review of delay notices identified this as the single largest factor in preventing authorities from publishing with valuation issues and resourcing difficulties also cited as reasons. #localgovernment #councils

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Guest Column 🚨 Integrating Governance for Greater Impact "The establishment of Corporate Joint Committees (CJCs) marks a significant step forward in how we approach regional governance and public investment in Wales, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Cardiff Capital Region " By kellie beirne, Chief Executive, Cardiff Capital Region #CorporateJointCommittees #EconomicGrowth #SustainableGrowth #WalesEconomy #CardiffCapitalRegion https://lnkd.in/eDEZfsex

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Catch up on the key points from the proposed updates to the National Planning Policy Framework yesterday: Strategic planning to be ‘universal’ https://lnkd.in/eYb5D9hu Householder planning application fees could be doubled https://lnkd.in/e7-MGAZU ‘Grey belt’ defined in proposed planning reforms https://lnkd.in/emh-g34T Housing targets to fall in London but rise everywhere else https://lnkd.in/e-ApxXwR

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