Audit Commission spend £60,000 "to combat the activities of Eric Pickles"

Extraordinary story in the Sunday Times about the Audit Commission, the taxpayer funded local government regulator, spending £60,000 to lobby against the Conservatives. This is because of proposals from the Party to scale back the Commission's budget and endless regulations - which at present represent a heavy financial burden for town halls to comply with. In particular the Conservatives are pledged to scrap the Comprehensive Area Assessments (CAA.)

The Commission hasn't even been subtle. They chose Connect Public Affairs, a lobbyists founded by Labour MP Rosie Winterton. The firm advised the best strategy would be to try and generate Tory splits on the issue with “strong local lobbying response in order to mitigate and combat the activities of Eric Pickles." I can't imagine they will have much luck finding Tory councillors  declaring how tremendously worthwhile the CAA is - the process is the most time consuming, scandalous, bureaucratic waste of money. But even more outrageous is the idea of taxpayers money being used to campaign against a political party and it evidently not occurring to the Audit Commission that this is not considered an appropriate way to behave in this country.

'Tory Treasurer's advice cost local councils £470m'

On Saturday we noted that Michael Spencer was preparing to 'blow Labour out of the water' in terms of fundraising for the next General Election.

Mr Spencer, Tory Treasurer, is the subject of a much less encouraging story in today's Independent.

Following a two month investigation The Independent's Martin Hickman alleges that "councils who paid [a firm run by Mr Spencer] for strategic advice were almost twice as likely to have lost money in the three main Icelandic banks as those advised by other companies."

He continues: "Of the 116 local authorities who lost money, 51 received advice from Butlers. Their losses totalled £470m, more than half the total amount of council funds frozen in the banks."

Labour plays politics with Iceland deposits problem

Yesterday there was talk by the Government of "emergency teams" going into councils worst affected by the Iceland deposits problem.  It turns out that these "emergency teams" consisted of one representative of the LGA.  "Pointless" was how one Tamworth councillor described the one hour visit from the duo, in which no practical assistance was offered.

Eric Pickles was more forthright:

“Labour might have been better off buying the three councils a lingraphone tape in conversational Icelandic for all the help they’ve offered up. John Healey has cynically used these three authorities as a political football trying to divert attention away from the Government’s mismanagement of this crisis. Day by day this saga has unraveled into a comedy of errors.”

Bolsover joins the list

Although missing from previous lists Conservative Home has learnt that Labour-run Bolsover District Council has £3m with Landsbanski. Bolsover has no Conservative councillors at present so all the more reason for this website to hold them to account.

The local MP Labour Dennis Skinner is normally very indignant about reckless, casino capitalist greed. I wonder what he makes of the whole thing.

Tories call for transparency on Iceland deposits crisis

Shadow local government minister Bob Beill MP has written today to John Healey MP calling for an end to the leaking of information about councils' exposure in a "piecemeal" and "speculative manner".  The text of the letter is published in full below.

Crisis in Tamworth?

"I'm from the Government, I'm here to to help you," was judged one of the three great lies of the 20th century. (The other two being: "The cheque's in the post." And: "yes, darling. Of course I will still respect you in the morning.")

The Government's announcement of an "Emergency Team" to be sent into Conservative-run Tamworth Council over Icelandic investments appears to be under this category.

Cllr Jeremy Oates, leader of Tamworth Council says:

Councils with money in Icelandic banks: The latest list

While the Government and the Local Government Association have failed to provide a full list of Councils thus far identified as having deposited money in Icelandic banks The Daily Telegraph have had a pretty good stab of it this morning. Their list shows the total approaching the £1 billion figure that Eric Pickles warned of.

Councils and police authorities – total £944.07 million

1 Kent County Council - £50 million - £30.36 per taxpayer (pop 1,647,100)

2 Nottingham City Council - £42 million - £145.48 per taxpayer (pop 288,700)

3 Transport for London - £40 million - £5.44 per taxpayer (pop 7,355,400)

4 London Borough of Haringey - £37 million - £164.66 per taxpayer (pop 224,700)

5 Norfolk County Council £32.5 million - £38.66 per taxpayer (pop 840,600)

6 Metropolitan Police Authority £30 million - £4.08 per taxpayer (pop 7,355,400)

7 Dorset County Council - £28.1 million - £39.68 per taxpayer (pop 708,100)

8 Hertfordshire County Council - £28 million - £26.26 per taxpayer (pop 1,066,100)

9 London Borough of Barnet - £27 million - £81.89 per taxpayer (pop 329,700)

10 Somerset County Council - £25 million - £27.60 per taxpayer (pop 905,700)

11 Northumberland County Council - £23 million

12 London Borough of Hillingdon - £20 million

13 Surrey County Council - £20 million

14 Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council - £20 million

LibDem peer in glass house throws stones at Tory councils

Tim Montgomerie writes:

LibDem peer Lord Oakeshott has been enjoying himself in the media over the last 24 hours; decrying Tory councils like Winchester who made deposits with banks in Iceland.

Lord Oakeshott should have looked in his own backyard before running in front of the Today programme's microphone: "Councils who have put money in Iceland banks last week, like Winchester who put £1m in a subsidiary of Landsbanki only a month ago, they must have been blind and deaf."  Quoted in The Telegraph.

He continued: "By mid-September, the alarm bells were ringing and red lights flashing all over Iceland and its banks. How could the council possibly have missed them?"

But LibDem Sutton had £5.5m deposited with Iceland banks and made a £2m deposit as recently as the end of September.

Sutton Tory councillor Paul Scully is essential reading for more.

Council's Icelandic bank deposits. Can we really just blame Prescott?

The big local government story remains the vast sums deposited by Councils in Icelandic banks. Is it credible simply to blame the Government because Councils were following their guidelines? In 2004 John Prescott told Councils they could invest with foreign banks if they had branches in the UK. There was vague advice about "to seek the highest rate of return consistent with proper levels of security and liquidity." But this wasn't an instruction. It was a guideline. Since when did anyone think advice from John Prescott was worth following? If Councils are less craven about following Government guidelines in future then some good will have come out of this mess.

Tory MEP Dan Hannan says:

"Some of my local authorities have lost tens of millions of pounds. But my blood boils when I read the reports offered by their jobsworth accountants telling councillors that all would be well, because they 'adhered to the treasury management practices set out in the CIFPA Code'. No risk, then, No need to apply common sense."

The Daily Telegraph reports this morning:

"Winchester City Council, which is Conservative-run, sank funds into Heritable,   a subsidiary of the troubled Landsbanki bank, only hours after the collapse   of Lehman Brothers - the event which triggered the stock market melt-down   which led directly to the collapse of the Icelandic financial system, three   weeks ago.

Other local authorities are also thought to have continued investing in   Iceland in recent weeks, despite warnings from leading financial and   political experts.

Winchester's actions emerged after Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat   Treasury spokesman, clashed with Paul Coen, chief executive of the Local   Government Association, accusing councils of being reckless with taxpayers'   money.

During heated exchanges on Radio 4's Today Programme, Mr Coen insisted that   councils had abided by Government guidance.

But Lord Oakeshott said: 'Councils who have put money in Iceland banks   last week, like Winchester who put £1m in a subsidiary of Landsbanki only a   month ago, they must have been blind and deaf.'

That list in full?

The BBC's website are running a list entitled "In Full: Councils facing losses." Very much doubt it is the full list I'm afraid. Some Councils are probably lying low like Brer Fox and stonewalling the media. Some Councils that haven't invested their money in Icelandic banks are putting a statement on their websites to make this clear. The good news is that Ealing hasn't put any money that way. Nor has Wandsworth. Nor has Hammersmith and Fulham. (Thank you for asking.)

But for what it is worth this is the BBC's list of Councils which have admitted to having deposits in the collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki or its UK arm Heritable, or in other threatened Icelandic institutions. If your Council hasn't got a denial on their website yet then it may well be one to add.