The UK's Prudential Borrowing Framework: professional discipline and control

Since 2004, governance and accountability arrangements for UK local government borrowing under the new Prudential Borrowing Framework (PBF) have been based on the professional discipline and control model of governance. It supplements the earlier centralised discipline and control model whereby municipal borrowing had to be specifically approved by central government and provides an alternative to Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for capital procurement. Incorporating a case study of the use of PBF by Glasgow City Council, this paper considers the strengths and weaknesses of the PBF as a control mechanism for borrowing.