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Subscriptions
The leading Financial Subscription Service for local authorities, our Financial Intelligence Toolkit operates as your virtual finance function.
Providing an affordable resource that gives finance officers the key information they need, when they need it, we equip your finance professionals to deliver more with less.
Details of the contents for each of the 6 subscription tools are provided below.
Collection Fund Suite
The Collection Fund Suite is the most comprehensive tool dedicated to Collection Fund Accounting, Monitoring and Budgeting.
Our models and support are specifically designed to address the complexities and risks associated with the Collection Fund, giving you and your stakeholders essential assurance at every step.
The Collection Fund Suite comprises three modules, which focus on inter-related aspects of Council Tax and Business Rates:
Key Features
Council Tax and Business Rates Accounting Models (2023/24 Accounting)
Takes the pain and complexity out of Collection Fund accounting
Council Tax and Business Rates Monitoring Models (2024/25 Monitoring)
Ensures your understanding of resource implications and prepares estimated surplus/deficit declarations
NNDR1 Return Completion Review (2025/26 Budgeting)
Equips you to make the right decisions and achieve accurate resource projections
LG Futures’ support assisted Barnet with its business rates projections, making direct links between the accounting entries and their funding implications.
This enabled us to understand our base position and monitor the impact of Revaluation 2023, ensuring a robust medium-term forecast and optimising resources.
We’re very pleased to take-up all of their Collection Fund Suite modules once again for 2024/25.
Anisa Darr
Executive Director of Strategy & Resources (S151 officer), London Borough of Barnet
Funding Briefings
The Funding Briefing Service provides comprehensive coverage of local government funding issues, such as national Budget announcements; the local government finance settlement; key annual statistics; new government funding schemes and consultations; specific grant allocations; and other significant local government funding developments.
Key Features
Covers over 150 separate national funding announcements per annum
These take the form of detailed briefings; rapid email alerts; monthly summary updates; and online 'What's Hot' sessions
Briefings and email alerts can be sent to as many officers in your authority as you wish
Provides regular, bite-sized CPD for staff in your authority
Access to our website library, retaining full details of previous announcements
View Sample Briefings
The current, incredibly challenging, economic environment, results in a constant stream of new announcements from government. LG Futures’ continuously updated expert briefings, analysis and forecasts are absolutely vital in ensuring that we respond effectively to the changing agenda.
Joe Chesterton
Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director (Finance and Resources)
Southend-on-Sea City Council
Forecasting Model
Our comprehensive Medium-Term Revenue Resource model provides forecasts for your individual authority, with the reassurance that they are regularly updated throughout the year.
Key Features
Forecasting future years’ resources, reflecting known national funding and planned reforms
Scenario analysis, considering potential upper and lower funding scenarios for your individual authority
Authority data pre-populated, which avoids time-consuming local data input
Ability to change national and local assumptions e.g. inflation, council tax and business rates taxbase growth
Forecasting resulting business rates income; levy and safety net amounts; pooling income; and increasingly material Section 31 grant payments
Forecasting council tax income, based upon forecast taxbase and rate changes
View Sample Model
The complexity of local government funding, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding funding reform, presents a significant challenge for authorities when preparing their Medium-Term Financial Plan.
Using LG Futures’ Medium-Term Revenue Resource forecasting model is therefore incredibly reassuring, knowing that their national experts are only a phone call or email away.
John Mayhew
Finance Team Manager (Deputy Section 151 Officer)
South Staffordshire Council
Resource Planning Hub
The Resource Planning Hub is an extensive source of forward- looking online guidance, supplemented with a range of interactive tools, to inform and improve the robustness of your resource planning.
Key Features
Subscribers benefit from unlimited complimentary places at our Hub webinars and a complimentary place at face to face events
Latest detailed local authority funding analysis at your fingertips, including national developments, recent trends and future forecasts
Identification of ‘at a glance’ highlights, key implications arising and checklists
Coverage of local funding sources: council tax; business rates; fees and charges; use of reserves, and external funding sources: Revenue Support Grant; New Homes Bonus; and other general/specific grants
More than 25 interactive tools, supporting individual authorities in reviewing their funding resilience, trends and projections, and enabling comparisons with other authorities
The Hub’s clear funding guidance, analysis and tools have been invaluable when considering our financial planning; particularly when combined with the comprehensive information provided at their accompanying events and webinars.
Claire Morris
Executive Head of Service (Finance and Strategy)
Mole Valley District Council
Financial Benchmarking
These user-friendly benchmarking reports enable you to readily compare your financial position against similar authorities and nationally, identifying areas for potential further investigation.
Key Features
Unit Costs Report
Expenditure per unit of activity and savings that would potentially be achieved by setting your unit costs to benchmark levels
Annual Budget Changes Report
Changes in budgeted spending at individual service and sub-service level over time, enabling you to compare your expenditure and savings against other authorities
Fees and Charges Report
Fees and charges income as a proportion of service expenditure and potential revenue gains that could be achieved by setting your income-to-expenditure ratios to benchmark levels
Local Taxation Report
Council tax and business rates trends, including taxbase changes, business rates growth, council tax levels and collection rates
View Sample Reports
LG Futures’ financial benchmarking reports have been used extensively as part of Barnet’s financial planning. They’ve been particularly useful in understanding our cost, income and local taxation base, compared to similar authorities and the national position, and potential actions we could consider going forward.
John Hooton
Chief Executive
LB Barnet
Social Care Benchmarking
Access separate comprehensive analysis reports for adult and children’s social care, which model and benchmark your authority’s social care costs, performance and value for money.
Key Features
Potential range and magnitude of savings at benchmark levels
Detailed unit costs, performance data and traffic lights for individual sub-services
Value for money scores and charts
Future demographic projections for adult social care
Workforce statistics for children’s social care
View Sample Reports
At a time of significant national resource constraints and local demand pressure on adult and children’s social care budgets, LG Futures’ benchmarking reports are invaluable in showing the council how it compares against peers, both on cost and performance, ensuring we seek to deliver the best value for money possible.
Richard Ambrose,
Director, Corporate Finance
Buckinghamshire Council