Securing a Resilient Future: Capital spending for social value

Local government is revenue poor, but capital rich. While revenue budgets have fallen considerably over the past five years, capital spending has actually risen in cash terms. In 2014/15, local authorities in England and Wales spent more than £20bn on capital projects ranging from schools and housing to roads and new public transport links, facilitated in part by historically low borrowing rates.

In the past, capital spending has been seen primarily as a means to achieve social goals, for instance by building new schools or leisure centres to meet local need. While social benefits remain critical, councils have shifted decisively into a new mode of thinking about their investments.

This report shows how councils are investing for resilience, analysing their new agenda, setting out leading edge examples and making recommendations to help local authorities maximise the opportunities for creative economic

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