Совет Медвея продаст активы на 7 млн фунтов для финансирования реорганизации власти

Medway Council is selling off assets worth £7m to fund local government reorganisation. The unitary is taking advantage of the flexibility permitted by the government to allocating funds from the sale of assets towards revenue costs when it relates to spending intended to save money in the long-term. More than £19m in capital receipts has been identified this financial year and £7m has been allocated to cover the staffing costs in preparation for the creation of a new unitary authority. Medway is set to merge with the borders of Gravesham and Dartford BCs. Some £1m is set to go towards a Kent-wide Project Management Office and £6m will go towards the unitary’s own preparations split between two financial years 2026-27 and 2027-28. The rest of the capital receipts are set to contribute towards the council’s transformation programme, such as a digital project called Medway 2.0, adult social care improvements, and meeting action plans set by external audit partners and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa). The financial improvement plan, includes tightening the management of children’s services placements, reclaiming funds from undelivered adult social care, energy saving projects such as street lighting and reducing customer service phone calls through AI. Among the list of assets sold includes £6.8m for a business park, £2.2m for the former Civic Centre site, £1.5m for a shopping centre and over £5m for a portfolio of seven out of area let properties. On top of the government’s capital flexibilities, Medway Council has exceptional financial support agreed in principle up to £28.5m for 2025-26 and £10.1m for 2026-27. The government has allocated £900,000 in transition support for each new unitary announced and areas will receive a further £150,000 per unitary authority to support the recruitment of directors of statutory upper-tier services such as adult social care, children’s services and public health. Medway leader Vince Maple (Lab) said: “Although the multi-year settlement last year was welcome the financial pressure councils across the country are under is no secret, and local government reorganisation is the biggest shake up of local government for a generation. “The fact is that a change of this scale will require significant resource and it is not something that can just be absorbed by our staff, and we have a responsibility to play our part establishing the new unitary authority whilst continuing to deliver excellent services for the people of Medway today.”