Local authorities united over proposals for municipal bonds

摘要

Council chiefs have voted unanimously in favour of establishing a collective municipal bonds agency - which could potentially lower borrowing costs for vital local infrastructure schemes.Last week's meeting of the cross-party Local Government Association (LGA) executive rubber-stamped the long-awaited plan, following expressions of interest from 18 councils.Over the summer, the T.GA wrote to local authorities inviting them to come forward and express interest in helping found an agency.Major authorities such as Birmingham City Council, Cambridgeshire CC, Newcastle City Council and seven London boroughs - including the City of London Corporation, Westminster City Council and Kensington and Chelsea RLBC have committed to work with the LGA to develop the bonds agency at an initial estimated set up cost of £2.7m.