Local authorities have been offered a narrow window during which to apply for cheap loans designed to establish their housing ‘self-financing' system – to ensure the Government can borrow the cash at the best-possible rates.

A circular, published by the UK Debt Management Office (UKDMO) last week, called on local authorities to apply for money which would help them to leave the Treasury-led Housing Revenue Account regime, and manage their own housing-related finance, including their share of the HRA debt.