Budgets

• Former Northants leader admits ‘mistakes’ over PFI deal

  Former leader of Northamptonshire County Council has admitted mistakes were made in a PFI deal which has meant up to £2m a year being paid for empty care beds.

  

• Surrey’s A team starts its plan B

  Counties across the country are grappling with tighter budgets. Heather Jameson talks to Surrey CC's Joanna Killian about the authority's financial woes.

  

• Cash-strapped county faces £94m funding gap

  Surrey CC faces a funding gap of £94m by March 2021 unless it takes drastic action to change its finances, a report by accountancy experts has warned.

  

• Unitary council stops all non-urgent spending in face of £2.8m overspend

  Torbay Council has been forced to announce an ‘immediate moratorium’ on all non-urgent expenditure.

  

• Warning that more councils could cut services to bare minimum

  An increasing number of councils could be forced to cut services to the legal minimum, financial experts have warned.

  

• Council warns services will be cut to legal minimum

  East Sussex CC has warned it may not even be able to provide basic statutory services in less than three years unless the government provides extra help.

  

• What future for our parks?

  A survey has revealed 85% of councils expect to cut budgets for parks in the next five years. Mark Whitehead finds out what impact this will have on council-owned green spaces.

  

• Councils slash £15m from parks budgets

  Parks and green spaces are falling into ‘disrepair’ because of budget cuts, freedom of information requests reveal.

  

• Cuts putting ‘impossible squeeze’ on care services

  Continuing budget cuts are putting ' an impossible squeeze' on councils' ability to provide care services, local government leaders have warned.

  

• Holyrood cuts cost residents over £130 each

  Local government spending in Scotland has been cut by over £130 per head over the last five years, new research reveals.