Council deserves credit for rating

The rating will help the council to borrow money at lower interest rates, which will improve value for money and is part of the council's commitment to protecting frontline services.

The county council has been classed as Aa1, which rates it alongside the United States of America.
According to Moody's, one of the world's leading credit agencies, Lancashire is "well positioned to manage the spending cuts necessary to offset funding reductions from the UK central government".

County Councillor Geoff Driver, leader of the county council, said: "This is an excellent result for Lancashire. Such a good credit rating shows that we are managing our money well. It's a good measure of our performance when a third party, like Moody's, looks at our recent financial work and gives us the second highest possible rating.

"We are working hard to make sure that our costs are kept as low as possible. This rating will give investors confidence in Lancashire, which in turn helps to reduce the costs of any borrowing."

Thomas Amenta, a senior vice president in Moody's Sub-Sovereign Group and the lead analyst for the county council, said: "The Comprehensive Spending Review will reduce grant funding to Lancashire by approximately £180m over the current and the following two fiscal years.

"Although the cuts will be challenging, the council’s track record of achieving the budgeted savings is encouraging. During the last fiscal year, LCC was able to respond quickly to the £22m in-year grant funding reduction that the UK central government announced in its 2010 Emergency Budget."

The Aa1 rating is the second highest possible rating behind AAA. It reflects the strong financial management of the county council, including the planned three-year budget and its history of delivering savings.