Finance Commission

Representatives from three of Britain’s biggest cities are poised to launch a public investigation into the case for councils to raise more of their own income.

Birmingham, Manchester and Westminster, on behalf of Central London Forward,  have together enlisted leading experts to sit on the review which will chaired by Sir Stuart Lipton, one of Britain’s most respected property developers. He will be joined by nine other independent experts.

The three authorities argue the current system for funding Britain’s major cities and their public services is unsustainable and needs radical reform.

The commission’s report will feed directly into the government’s review of local government finance that will report by the summer.

The commission will be taking evidence from a wide range of interested parties including politicians from across the political spectrum including ministers, businesses, local authority chiefs and think-tanks. It will examine how major cities, as the country’s economic powerhouses, have a crucial role to play in creating the conditions for future national economic prosperity.

The commission will also examine the funding of local government in these cities and particularly how councils can become more self-sufficient and less reliant on central government handouts. The commission’s hearings will be open to the public and media to attend. The first meeting will take place at the Old Marylebone Town Hall on 4 February at 2.30pm.

Interested parties can also submit written evidence to the commission until the end of February.

For more information visit the finance commission website or email Lucy Capron or call 020 7641 4340.

Further meetings will take place in Manchester on February 25th and on March 9th in Birmingham.