PLYMOUTH City Council could be ordered to sell off millions of pounds of assets to avoid setting an illegal budget.
The Government has been asked to make a ruling after the authority borrowed £70m to buy shares in a firm which then used the money to pay off the council's pension deficit.
The transaction has saved the council £1.47m a year since 2019 but set it at loggerheads with auditors who have not signed off the 2019/20 accounts - or any subsequent ones - as a result. If the matter is not resolved by February 2023, the council has been warned it would be in danger of setting an illegal budget for 2024/25.
The £70m transaction was controversial because the council borrowed money from the Government which should only be used for capital projects. Auditors at Grant Thornton UK LLP advised against this when the decision was taken by the Labour administration in 2019.
In a progress report, the auditors said that after taking legal advice the option of approving the accounts with a "qualification" added to them was "untenable". It said the only way to resolve the issue is to ask for what is called a "capitalisation directive" from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).
Bu hikaye The Herald dergisinin September 29, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Herald dergisinin September 29, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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