Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which English local authorities are known to have invested public funds in the purchase of commercial property in the last two years; and which of those have reported losses to central Government in so doing in the last 12 months.

Government does not routinely collect data from local authorities on individual capital transactions. Local authorities submit financial data returns to Government covering total annual spend on capital investment, categorised by service area rather than asset type. Commercial activities are included in the category of ‘trading expenditure’. Government may collect additional data from local authority published strategies, including on individual authorities, based on a risk-based approach in keeping with its role as steward of the financial system.

Local authorities do not routinely report financial losses of any sort directly to Government. Instead, each local authority manages their financial position at the local level.