Liverpool City Council owes £878.3m as a result of borrowing money to pay for capital projects.
The majority of the debt relates to money borrowed from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). The PWLB loans money on behalf of HM Treasury to local authorities to spend on capital projects.
The council has borrowed over £475m since Labour gained control of the local authority in 2010. The loans, with interest, amount to over £513m.
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The first loan was taken out in January 2015. The most recent loan was in November 2021.
Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Jane Corbett, said that the city had used the PWLB money to pay for major investment schemes such as Paddington Village and the regeneration of the Anfield area.
Paddington Village is a high tech quarter in the city centre that includes the new Spine Building. The regeneration of Anfield is a long running scheme to revitalise the streets around Walton Breck Road and Stanley Park.
The council has worked in partnership with Liverpool FC, Your Housing Group and Keepmoat Home to deliver 18 projects. The council has taken out 38 PWLB loans since Labour gained control of the local authority in 2010.
The city took out 13 loans in 2019, which was the highest number of loans in one year. In total the council has borrowed £544m from the PWLB. Allowing for interest the local authority owes £636m.
The first loan from the PWLB was taken out in 1987 for £92,19886.11, when the council was controlled by Labour. The city took out three loans in 2008 when the city was controlled by the Liberal Democrats.
The council's recently addressed the subject of public borrowing in their accounts. The accounts read: "Borrowing At 31 March 2021 the actual level of City Council borrowing was £878.3M; this includes loans from the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB), other financial institutions and from other local authorities, together with a small amount of local authority bonds and stocks."
This type of borrowing at competitive interest rates is a normal way of funding local government capital schemes.
Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Jane Corbett, said: “Borrowing is used to invest in improving the city’s infrastructure and the loans span many different timeframes and schemes. It includes projects such as the Paddington Village development, regeneration of the Anfield area and investment in improving alleyways which are massively important for the quality of life for residents.
"In addition, we need to borrow to meet our net zero carbon targets, such as decarbonisation of our council buildings and vehicles and installing LED lighting, which are all crucial to offset the impact of climate change. We are committed to making sure the investments we make benefit local communities, focused around our Triple Lock of people, planet and equality.
"The Public Works Loan Board is a long-established scheme with the funds issued by the Treasury at a competitive interest rate and paid back over a period of time.
"Our borrowing level is within affordable limits and has been budgeted for, and compares well with other similar sized councils.”
