The following statement has been issued by Dover District Council after it was revealed the council had deposited £1m in the Icelandic bank, Landsbanki.

Eleven months ago Dover District Council made a fixed term deposit with Landsbanki for 1 year. At the time Landsbanki had a high credit rating and the deposit was made as part of the normal Treasury Management operations of the Council. The deposit was £1 million. This is a relatively small proportion (4%) of the Council's total investments and the Council is working to ensure that it will not have any immediate impact on services. It is also stressed that these monies are at risk rather than confirmed as lost. Nonetheless, the potential loss of this investment is a very serious matter for the Council Tax payers of the District.

The Chancellor has announced that he will protect investors who have lost money through Icesave, the retail banking arm of Landsbanki. The Local Government Association has released a statement urging the Chancellor to assist the many Local Authorities who have also invested with the Icelandic banks. Dover District Council supports the LGA's approach of working with the Government on this issue. While it is important that the Chancellor protects the interests of those with the financial resources to invest directly in Icesave, even where this exceeds the standard £50,000 protection level, it is also important that Council Tax payers who may not have had the funds to invest with Icesave themselves, but who will be affected by the loss, are also protected.