Reorganisation debt warning
Cash flow warning over council tax change
Council leader calls for vital funding reforms
New unitary authorities could push up council tax, DCN warns
Local government spends £3.4bn with 39 ‘strategic suppliers’
Public procurement experts Tussell find that local government spending with the Government’s ‘strategic suppliers’ has remained flat for five years.
Section 114 notice warning for Halton
12/09/2025 Halton BC may be forced to issue a section 114 notice if the council fails to bring its spending under control, senior councillors have been warned. |
Shropshire Council acts to avoid Section 114
05/09/2025 Shropshire Council is expected to declare a ‘financial emergency’ next week as it seeks to avoid effective bankruptcy. |
Millions at risk of council tax debt, report warns
02/09/2025 One in four UK adults fear they will be unable to pay their council tax over the next six months, new research from StepChange Debt Charity reveals. |
SEND transport costs reach record £2.26bn
01/09/2025 SEND transport costs hit a record high of £2.26bn in 2023-24, according to a new analysis of official data for England. |
Councils forgo over £50m second homes revenue
01/09/2025 The sale of second homes has seen up to £55m less council tax revenue generated for local authorities. |
Government skipped own cost review of council mergers
29/08/2025 The Government did not conduct its own assessment of the costs of local government reorganisation, the BBC has revealed. |
Report reveals ‘frustration’ over regeneration scheme faults
27/08/2025 A regeneration project in Birkenhead is due to exceed its budget by £12m, with a report outlining its ‘risks and implications’. |
Town halls forced to sell community assets as debts mount
26/08/2025 Local authorities across the UK are selling off public assets – such as schools and care homes – to try and reduce a collective debt of £122bn. |
Cuts have hit council financial information, report finds
22/08/2025 Councillors and members of the public are not being presented with accurate or easy to understand information about local authority budgets, report has found. |
London Councils: Funding reforms could be ‘devastating’ for capital
22/08/2025 The Government must consider London’s ‘high levels of deprivation’ in the Fair Funding Review 2.0, says the cross-party group representing the capital’s councils. |
Council warns of ‘most severe’ budget to date
21/08/2025 North Yorkshire Council has revealed it could be encountering its ‘most severe’ budget round yet. |
Audit costs have ‘risen dramatically’ among councils, research reveals
19/08/2025 The eradication of the Audit Commission has led to the worsening of council audit performance, academics have argued. |
Council debt costs over £4bn annually
19/08/2025 There has been a 60% increase in council debt over the last 10 years, figures have revealed. |
Over £300m Ukrainian refugee funding unspent
19/08/2025 More than £300m given to English councils to help house Ukrainian refugees still sits in council bank accounts, freedom of information (FOI) request reveals. |
LGA warning over fair funding transition
18/08/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned proposed fair funding transition arrangements will not protect councils from cuts. |
Councils bite back at food waste recycling rollout plan
14/08/2025 Councils will not be told how much money they will receive to roll out food waste recycling until months before the implementation date, Government admits. |
Woking’s ‘historic debt’ to be reduced by Government
07/08/2025 Financial support will be delivered to help Woking BC repay its debt, the Government has said. |
Reform-led council calls for over £100m in savings
06/08/2025 Lancashire County Council needs to save over £100m to ensure financial stability, officers have cautioned. |
Council tax reforms could help meet fiscal targets
06/08/2025 Researchers have called for the whole council tax system to be replaced as one measure that could help the Chancellor meet her fiscal rules. |
Councils are ‘cautious’ about Procurement Act, survey reveals
29/07/2025 Almost 30% of council staff believe there is insufficient training to back the launch of the new Procurement Act, research reveals. |
Councils facing ‘skyrocketing’ service costs, says report
23/07/2025 Councils are expected to spend an estimated £139bn on the delivery of public services this year, says a report. |
Council audit backlog prevents national accounts sign off
18/07/2025 The National Audit Office has refused to approve the Government's accounts for the second year running due to the ‘severe backlogs’ in local authority audits. |
EXCLUSIVE: £8m Oflog 'waste'
17/07/2025 Ministers have been warned against imposing more top-down performance indicators after it emerged millions was spent before the watchdog was scrapped. |
Councils push back against Reform’s Doge unit
15/07/2025 Several local authorities have reportedly pushed back against efforts by Reform UK’s Elon Musk-style ‘Doge’ unit to access sensitive data. |
Reform's Kent finds 'millions of pounds' of savings
11/07/2025 Kent CC's Department for Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE) has identified ‘millions of pounds worth of potential savings', leader Linden Kemkaran claims. |
Notting Hill Carnival receives vital funding boost
10/07/2025 Councils have delivered almost £1m of extra funding to enable Notting Hill Carnival to take place as planned this year. |
Ministerial envoys sent in to support indebted council
10/07/2025 Concerns about the levels of debt at Warrington Council have prompted the Government to send in four ministerial envoys. |
Affordable housing projects to receive £100m uplift
09/07/2025 Housebuilders are set to deliver a boost of £100m to affordable housing projects across the UK. |
Social care and public health leads council third-party spend
08/07/2025 Social care and public health led local government third-party spend in 2024, new figures have revealed. |
LGA: SEND transport costs likely to hit £2bn
02/07/2025 Council spending on home to school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is predicted to hit nearly £2bn this year. |
Council apologises for £1m ‘processing error’
01/07/2025 Southampton City Council has apologised after a ‘processing error’ led to nearly £1m in Direct Debit payments being taken early. |
Reform-led council plans to ‘scrutinise every penny’
30/06/2025 Reform UK council leader announces Lincolnshire County Council needs to rethink its service delivery to ensure sufficient savings. |
Council’s net debt rises by £233m
23/06/2025 Wirral Council’s net debt has risen by £233m in six months due in part to spending on Public Finance Initiatives (PFI). |
Government announces ‘fairer funding’ reforms
20/06/2025 Local government funding will be overhauled to support left behind places, while competitive bidding for funding will be scrapped, Government announced. |
Reform UK-led council to undertake ‘efficiency review’
16/06/2025 Nottinghamshire County Council, which is led by Reform UK, is set to carry out an ‘efficiency review’ in an attempt to find savings. |
Reform councils try to get ahead of DOGE reviews
12/06/2025 Two Reform-led councils have started DOGE-style efficiency reviews ahead of a visit from the party's national team tasked with scrutinising finances. |
Spending Review: Reeves pledges to put sector on 'sustainable footing'
11/06/2025 Health, defence and schools were the winners in the spending review, but the government claimed it would put local government back on ‘a sustainable footing'. |
Council’s pension scheme could provide over 200 homes
10/06/2025 The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea intends to invest millions from its £2bn pension fund to support vulnerable residents. |
London Councils: SEND funding ‘sums don’t add up’
05/06/2025 Sixteen of London’s 33 local authorities are at risk of bankruptcy due to SEND funding pressures, London Councils warns. |
Fears for council funding as ‘unprotected’ departments face cuts
02/06/2025 Council leaders have told the Chancellor they ‘desperately need’ more funding in the Spending Review as financial experts warn ‘unprotected’ government departments could face cuts. |
Investment targets to be set for LGPS megafunds
30/05/2025 The Government is to press ahead with proposals to consolidate Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds. |
Scottish councils face £647m budget shortfall
23/05/2025 Local authorities in Scotland must transform the way they deliver services to close a budget shortfall of £647m, spending watchdog says. |
Union launches Fair Funding campaign to save council jobs
19/05/2025 Unite has launched a campaign calling for an overhaul of how local authorities are funded to prevent further bankruptcies and job and public service cuts. |
Council plans further Exceptional Financial Support bid
15/05/2025 Windsor & Maidenhead BC will need to agree a package of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) with the Government for next year, it has announced. |
West Midlands councils benefit from £12m pothole boost
13/05/2025 Six local authorities in the West Midlands are due to receive £12m of funding to help resurface roads and repair up to 132,000 potholes. |
Local government leads way on SME procurement spend
13/05/2025 Councils are bucking the trend with spending on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), figures from the British Chambers of Commerce have revealed. |
Burnham calls for Northern spending boost
13/05/2025 Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called on the Chancellor to increase spending outside of London to counter support for Reform UK. |
Nottingham still 'dependent upon EFS'
12/05/2025 Nottingham City Council remains dependent on exceptional financial support (EFS) but has laid the groundwork for becoming sustainable, commissioners say. |
Snail breeding racket leaves holes in council’s finances
12/05/2025 Westminster City Council has unearthed a snail breeding racket which has been operating secret snail farms in empty office spaces. |
Ministerial envoys to be sent to Warrington
09/05/2025 A team of ministerial envoys are to be sent to Warrington BC amid doubts over the council's ‘willingness and capacity' to tackle financial challenges. |
