Blackpool Council has proposed loaning a local NHS trust over £27m to help the health body invest in frontline services.

The local authority is considering a £27.1m loan to help Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust restructure its debt.

The council’s Business Loans Fund argued this loan would free the Trust up to invest in frontline services.

The Trust would repay the loan over a 25-year period.

In February 2017, Blackpool Council agreed an increase to its Business Loans Fund from £10m to £100m.

Its first loan after this decision was £9,230,000 to the Trust. The aim was to improve its transformation programme and bolster its working capital.

In total, the Business Loans Fund has paid out £60m to support local businesses.

‘As a council, we have the ability to borrow money at a lower interest rate than others, which can then be lent out to support companies to build, grow and hire,’ said council leader Simon Blackburn.

‘These loans will not only help companies to expand, but the repayments will help support our own budget and maintain our services.

‘This proposal is to assist Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to restructure its debt which will in turn enable them to invest in front-line services.’