Decile meaning

Local Government Finance Settlement Westminster council is set to face some of the steepest reductions in grant funding among upper-tier authorities. The government is delivering on its promise to shift resources towards areas with the greatest need, writes Stuart Hoddinott. That inevitably means some councils will receive less than they might have expected, and, with a limited pot, ministers have had to make hard choices over where the losses fall. The announcement this week on council allocations—the Local Government Finance Settlement—runs to considerable detail, yet one headline stands out. Crucially, the most deprived authorities will gain most from rising local government budgets across this parliament. From 2024/25 to 2028/29, core spending power (the funding councils have available to provide services) will rise by 24.6% in real terms for the most deprived decile of local authorities. By comparison, the 10% least deprived councils will see only a 3.4% real-terms uplift. The rationale is sound: these places typically face higher service pressures, especially costly, acute provision such as social care and...

In this issue: Corporate governance SAYE Useful information Dates for your diary Weekly highlights from other practice areas Corporate governance Sage Group shareholders approve revised remuneration policy Sage Group PLC, the FTSE 100 software provider, secured shareholder backing for its updated directors’ remuneration policy (DRP) at its annual general meeting, narrowly avoiding dropping below the investor dissent threshold that would have placed it on the Investment Association (IA) public register. The DRP resolution received 80.72% of votes in favour. It is understood that proxy adviser Individual Shareholder Services (ISS) had urged investors to oppose the new DRP. The refreshed policy raises the quantum of annual LTIP awards for executive directors from 300% to 400% of salary; an initial 450% ceiling was cut following shareholder engagement. The company said realised executive pay had, in recent years, lagged its performance, with the business delivering upper decile total shareholder return over the past three years while the CEO’s realised pay sat...