Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

An early Christmas present for Jane Scott.

Wiltshire Council has received almost a third of the money owed to it from the winding-up of Landsbanki Bank, Iceland.

The first payment of around £952,000 has been made and latest indications are that the council will eventually receive 98 per cent of its outstanding deposit of £3 million.

There is no indication at this stage when the next payment will be received, however, it is likely that the recovery of all the assets and the winding-up proceedings will take a while and may not be concluded until 2016.

Wiltshire Council leader, Jane Scott, said: 'I am very pleased to report that the first payment from Landsbanki has been made to the council and that it is a substantial first payment. We are confident nearly all of the £3 million we invested in the bank will be recovered. We will keep a close eye on the winding-up proceedings and will continue to update the public when we have news.'

However, even the 'best-case scenario' represents an actual loss to the residents of Wiltshire, as the capital tied up in Iceland since the Conservatives 'invested' the money in the bank just before it went bust has not earned any interest. The cost to get the money back has also been high.

On Friday, October 28th the Supreme Court in Iceland ordered that the deposits placed by the test case UK wholesale depositors, including local authorities, have priority status in the winding-up of Landsbanki. It means this group of investors, including WC, will be repaid first in the winding-up process.

Happy Christmas, Jane!!