Council leaders at Middlesbrough Council have voted unanimously to apply for a £15m bailout from the Government to avoid effective bankruptcy.
The struggling local authority is facing a budget shortfall of around £6.3m for 2024/25 due to ‘persistent high inflation’, increased demand on services, and insufficient Government funding.
A spokesperson for the council said ahead of the vote: ‘The council is taking this decision in order to seek to avoid the more severe consequences of issuing a Section 114 notice, which have been issued recently by other local authorities, but that risk remains if a balanced budget cannot be achieved by the statutory deadline of March 11.’
