{"id":711180,"date":"2026-07-25T23:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T23:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/711180\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T23:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T23:07:25","slug":"guildford-says-its-monitoring-strait-of-hormuz-crisis-closely-to-mitigate-potential-economic-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/711180\/","title":{"rendered":"Guildford says it’s monitoring Strait of Hormuz crisis ‘closely’ to mitigate potential economic risks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has caused a steep rise in energy prices for Surrey councils\"STRAIT<\/p>\n

The Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz has caused oil prices to rise across the world(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Guildford Borough Council will \u201cclosely\u201d monitor international crises and their potential impact on the local authority through an update to its official risk register.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s cabinet discussed updates to its corporate risk register, which helps it track potential threats to its ability to continue operations and provide local services.<\/p>\n

An update to the document was presented to cabinet members this week, which included the addition of \u201cmacro-economic volatility\u201d as a risk to consider.<\/p>\n

Council leader Julia McShane (Liberal Democrats: Westborough) explained: \u201cThis reflects the potential impact that significant global effects can have on both the council, and on our communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the continued uncertainty of the international situation, we will continue to monitor developments closely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The officers\u2019 report highlights the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a particular focus point, noting the resulting sharp rise in energy prices – as well as the potential for broader inflation – as causes for concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cOngoing military operations in the Middle East have led to widespread disruption, with global energy supplies among the areas most affected,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for international oil and gas shipments. Strikes on critical energy infrastructure have further contributed to instability.\u201d<\/p>\n

While adding that no significant impacts are currently being felt, the report aims to assess risks early to account for potential changes in conditions over the coming months.<\/p>\n

It says risks from the global stage could see interest rates pushed up by the Bank of England to combat inflation – which in turn could put pressure on the council\u2019s budget through rising borrowing costs.<\/p>\n

Fuel cost rises would also present a significant challenge, according to the report, especially for the delivery of council services that are dependent on car travel.<\/p>\n

The report further noted that reduced spending among the local public caused by inflation spikes could have an impact on council revenue from chargeable services.<\/p>\n

Councillor McShane said: \u201cIsn\u2019t it sad that we even have to have that [macro-economic risk assessment]?\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cIt also highlights how some of these risks are entirely outside of our control.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz, which links the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the wider Indian Ocean, has seen severe disruption since the war in Iran began in February.<\/p>\n

As one of the world\u2019s busiest shipping routes for oil and liquefied natural gas exports, this has sent shockwaves through the global energy supply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has caused a steep rise in energy prices for Surrey councils…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,119341,119344,229,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-711180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-guildford","tag-guildford-borough-council","tag-politics","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}