Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Costs definition

What does Costs mean? In litigation, costs are the legal fees, disbursements, court fees and VAT incurred in bringing, defending or appealing a claim, and the sums a court or tribunal may order one party to pay another for those liabilities. The concept is governed by procedural rules and case law rather than a single statutory definition: England and Wales (CPR 44–47), Northern Ireland (RCJ Ord 62), Scotland (where the equivalent term is expenses), and Ireland (Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and the Legal Costs Adjudicators). The general approach is broadly consistent, subject to local terminology and procedure. Typical features include the discretionary rule...

Capital finance in UK local authorities: prudential framework, MRP, borrowing, investments, capital receipts, PFI/PF2, securitisation and capitalisation

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

What is capital finance and why does it matter?

Unlike revenue finance, where day-to-day spending must be met from current income, capital expenditure can be financed through borrowing or capital receipts, with the related Costs then spread over the period during which the benefits are expected to arise. The current arrangements, commonly known as the Prudential Framework for England and Wales, are set out in Part 1 of the Local Government Act 2003 (LGA 2003). This framework promotes Investment in the capital assets local government needs to improve services, and it rests on accounting principles alongside professional judgement and self-regulation. It enables local authorities (LAs) to raise finance for capital projects without central consent, provided they can afford to service the debt without additional government support. Between 2010 and 2022, low interest rates encouraged LAs to borrow from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) and other lending institutions to fund both regeneration and renewal programmes, as well as property investments designed to secure regular income flows to support General Fund activity. As a result, LA balance sheets have seen debt levels increase significantly over this period...

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Paul Dossett

Grant Thornton

Paul Dossett is a public sector audit partner at Grant Thornton UK LLP and the firm’s Head of Local Government. He has worked with local government bodies for over 35 years. Paul has worked with every type of local body in both England and Scotland. Paul has been heavily involved in the firm’s recent high profile work at Croydon and Slough. Paul has also audited a large number of NHS bodies including Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS FT and Kings College Hospital NHS FT. Paul is also a member of CIPFA’s Public Finance Management Board and member of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Panel...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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