Overview of services
Local government funding is still beset by uncertainty and change, and the Funding Advisory Service will be on-hand to help you to understand the changes and maximise your authority’s financial position.
Funding Advisory Service
The Funding Advisory Service has been advising local authorities on funding and forecasting for more than 25 years. The service helps authorities through the complexity and uncertainty of the local government funding system. Our approach is to give authorities the support they need through all parts of our service. We are almost part of the team!
Ongoing briefings
We publish around 50 briefing notes and email updates every year. These cover all the major announcements affecting local government funding (the settlement, Budget and Spending Review) as well as other relevant announcements and reports. We aim to give you all the facts that are available – but also to give our opinions about the impact of any announcement on local funding levels.
Medium Term Financial Planning model
Our MTFP model provides medium-term funding forecasts at both the national and local authority level. It covers all the corporate funding streams, including business rates, council tax and grant funding. All our assumptions are shown clearly and transparently, and you can follow all of our calculations and assumptions. Many authorities use this model to support and check their budget plans.
Fair Funding model
A key element in local authority funding forecasts over the medium term will be the outcome of the Fair Funding Review (FFR). In our model, we have estimated the impact of the FFR on every authority (and nationwide). The model includes all the latest proposals for changes in funding that have been proposed, together with the latest available data. We also identify the key variables, and allow you to show the impact of a limited range of different outcomes.
Events and monthly webinars
During the pandemic, we have started to run monthly webinars (on Teams). These have now become extremely popular and will remain a key part of the service that we provide. We will increasingly introduce external speakers to give you a full range of opinions on the key funding issues. When normal times return, we will also hold face-to-face seminars.
Email and telephone support
We provide an unlimited amount of email and telephone support. Questions can range from very specific technical queries through to advice on budget-setting. We are also very happy to arrange Teams meetings to discuss any forecasting issues that you might have (either for individual authorities or groups).