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Morning Briefing: local authorities fear loss of EU cash

Councils have warned that the Treasury has yet to offer a replacement for the £5bn of regional funding the EU will provide until the end of 2020. 

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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Councils have warned that the Treasury has yet to offer a replacement for the £5bn of regional funding the EU will provide until the end of 2020 #ukhousing

In the news

Local authority leaders have told The Guardian that Brexit risks losing £5bn of EU regional cash for local projects.

The Local Government Association said it was a “huge concern” that the Treasury has still not revealed any details of a possible domestic replacement.

In Westminster, the fight over Brexit continues unabated, with Philip Hammond warning that the House of Commons will block a no-deal Brexit.

The chancellor told the BBC he would probably be sacked by the next prime minister, whoever he is, but said he would continue to argue against no-deal.

Mr Hammond’s full quotes are also included on The Guardian’s live blog.

House builder Persimmon has been all over the news. This is Money reports that the company has claimed “around half” its first-time buyers used Help to Buy.

In a trading update, Persimmon revealed that its half-year revenues fell by 4.5% to £1.75bn. It also built fewer homes, blaming this on a renewed focus on quality.

Financial Times columnist Matthew Vincent takes a look at the builder’s new strategy, arguing that its delayed sales are an attempt to rebuild its reputation after the outrage at former boss Jeff Fairburn’s £100m bonus.

Mr Vincent lists what he sees as Persimmon’s PR checklist – seven points to get its share price rising again.

Also in the Financial Times is a report on London property values, which have fallen £40bn since the Brexit vote.

The paper reported a narrowing of the North-South divide, although acknowledged that the fall in London amounted to a decrease of just 2.2%.

Elsewhere, concerns are continuing over East Kent Housing’s safety record. Two weeks ago, the Health and Safety Executive said it was investigating after the ALMO failed to carry out hundreds of gas safety checks on time.

Now Kent Online reports that council bosses have “grave concern” about the safety of council tenants. The site says an emergency inspection has uncovered further potential issues with electrical safety, fire risks and checks for legionella.

In more local news, This Is Local London reports that Greenwich council plans to buy properties outside the borough to combat homelessness.

The local authority is set to spend more than £60m on homes in other areas to use as temporary accommodation for homeless people.

And in Milton Keynes, opposition councillors are attempting to delay plans for a 5,000-home development to the east of the city.

MKFM reports that the council wants to be ready by the autumn to handle developers’ planning applications for the massive expansion of the city. However, Conservative councillors want to delay the process, saying the plans are “incompatible with the clear consensus wishes expressed during the recent workshops on the subject”.

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