Current status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15004 by Richard Lochhead on 23 February 2023, whether it will work with Glasgow City Council, the Glasgow City Region Cabinet and COSLA, to determine the feasibility of raising capital for the proposed Levelling Up Fund projects through the issuing of sub-sovereign bonds.
I appreciate the disappointment the Glasgow City Region will be experiencing following the UK Government’s decision not to support their bids for Levelling Up funding.
Any borrowing by local authorities, whether it’s through the public works loans board or through the issuance of bonds, is for local authorities to determine affordability themselves, subject to the conditions of their prudential borrowing regime.
However, any decisions to permit local authorities to issue bonds would require Ministerial consent. Ambitious investment strategies have led to financial insolvency in certain English local authorities and therefore this would require very careful consideration. My officials would be happy to discuss proposals with Glasgow City Council.