Highway Maintenance Budgets: The Long View
Mark Stevens, ADEPT, talks about local authority highway maintenance budgets, looking at how they have been impacted over the years by funding cuts.
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. |
Former Thurrock CFO issued with five-year ban
09/05/2025 In a historic first, the Financial Reporting Council has banned the former chief financial officer of Thurrock Council from working as a local government CFO. |
McMahon: End to 'shaming' preventing bankruptcies
07/05/2025 An end to ‘public shaming' of councils has helped stem the tide of section 114s, local government minister Jim McMahon has claimed. |
London boroughs issue bankruptcy warning over £330m overspend
23/04/2025 Town halls may soon be forced into effectively declaring bankruptcy if more is not done to tackle the £330m homelessness overspend, London Councils warns. |
Council rejects Farage bankruptcy claim
14/04/2025 Lancashire County Council has hit back at claims by Nigel Farage that it is on the brink of bankruptcy. |
SEND deficits ‘ticking’ clock, CCN warns
20/03/2025 Council leaders have warned ‘unmanageable’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficits risk bankrupting half of England’s largest councils. |
Council finance system 'not fit for purpose', MPs told
11/03/2025 The system for turning around councils in financial distress is ‘not fit for purpose' councillors have told MPs. |
Section 114 fears for new unitary
10/03/2025 A unitary formed two years ago faces a £190m budget gap within the next four years amid section 114 fears. |
Woking approves ‘business as usual’ budget
04/03/2025 Cash-strapped Woking Borough Council has signed off on a budget aimed at ensuring the council ‘operates within its financial means.’ |
Hillingdon facing possibility of s114
03/03/2025 Hillingdon LBC has been warned it faces the possibility of having to issue a section 114 notice if its finances aren't brought into line. |
IT woes to cost Birmingham City Council more than £90m
21/02/2025 The failed implementation of Birmingham City Council’s new IT system could cost the taxpayer £90m more than was originally budgeted, auditors have revealed. |
Hollinrake: Leaders to blame for s114 notices
19/02/2025 Conservative local government spokesperson Kevin Hollinrake has said council leaders are primarily responsible for their authorities having to issue section 114 notices. |
Barnet issues s114 over unauthorised payments
24/01/2025 Barnet LBC has issued a section 114 notice over ‘unlawful' payments to and from the council's pension fund. |
PAC: ‘Unviable’ SEND system pushing councils towards bankruptcy
15/01/2025 Almost half of all councils in England are in danger of effective bankruptcy within 15 months due in part to the ‘failing’ SEND system, MPs warn. |
Wirral auditor issues statutory notice
07/01/2025 Auditors have raised the alarm over Wirral MBC's finances as it fights to avoid issuing a section 114 notice. |
Council U-turn on clawing back chief's pay-out
12/12/2024 Croydon London Borough Council has given up trying to recover cash from the settlement payment made to former chief executive Jo Negrini just before its financial collapse. |
Windsor and Maidenhead wants 25% council tax increase amid section 114 warning
11/12/2024 Cash-strapped Windsor & Maidenhead BC has warned a section 114 notice is ‘almost inevitable' if it is blocked from raising council tax by a quarter. |
Birmingham settles equal pay claim
10/12/2024 Birmingham City Council has reached an agreement over the equal pay claim that pushed it to issue a section 114 notice. |
County council issues bankruptcy warning
15/11/2024 Hampshire County Council could face effective bankruptcy in two years without more Government support, according to a council forecast. |
Warrington bans ‘non-essential’ travel to avoid S114
13/11/2024 Warrington Council has announced a ban on all 'non-essential' travel and recruitment as it tries to avoid bankruptcy. |
Council facing bankruptcy calls for ‘fairer’ funding
08/11/2024 North Somerset Council, which has warned it is at risk of serving a Section 114 notice, has launched a campaign calling for a ‘fairer’ funding deal. |
Thurrock threat to sue other councils after financial collapse
07/11/2024 Thurrock Council has threatened to sue other councils as it legally goes after the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) over advice it gave. |
NAO: Councils face bankruptcy due to SEND deficits
24/10/2024 Two-fifths of councils will face the threat of bankruptcy if more is not done to tackle the £4.6bn special educational needs (SEN) deficit, watchdog warns. |
Twenty-six councils could face S114s over SEND deficits
21/10/2024 Dozens of England’s largest councils face ‘financial emergency’ if their multi-billion pound deficits for special needs provision are put on their budget books, according to new analysis. |
Council ‘unbelievably close’ to declaring bankruptcy
15/10/2024 Shropshire Council is ‘unbelievably close’ to declaring itself effectively bankrupt, according to the council leader. |
Thurrock renews inquiry call into finanical collapse
30/09/2024 Thurrock Council has renewed calls for a public inquiry into its ‘financial collapse'. |
‘People will be angry’: Council must find £11m to avoid S114
11/09/2024 North Somerset must take ‘radical’ action to avoid issuing a Section 114 notice, the authority has said in a stark warning. |
Birmingham commissioners cast doubt on budget
06/09/2024 Commissioners at Birmingham City Council have cast doubt on the authority's ability to balance its budget next year. |
Cash-strapped Brum sells off £56m of assets
27/08/2024 Birmingham City Council has sold off an estimated £56m of assets to help tackle its financial challenges. |
Bristol council leader issues Section 114 warning
23/08/2024 The leader of Bristol City Council has warned that the local authority is at risk of going bankrupt without urgent support. |
Questions raised over Brum’s decision to issue s114
19/08/2024 A report has raised questions about the reliability of Birmingham CC’s £760m equal pay liability and called for an inquiry into the decision to issue an s114. |
Leader calls for inquiry into Thurrock’s finances
19/08/2024 Thurrock Council’s leader has reportedly called for an inquiry into the authority’s investment decisions after a businessman was accused of misusing £150m of council funds. |
Council accuses tycoon of misusing £150m of its investment
16/08/2024 Thurrock Council has launched a High Court lawsuit accusing Liam Kavanagh of misusing around £150m of investment funds to pay for his ‘lavish lifestyle’. |
Birmingham slated over pay cut plans
16/08/2024 A union has slammed cash-strapped Birmingham City Council over plans to cut the salaries of refuse workers. |
Croydon splashes £12.5m on highways
15/08/2024 Croydon Council’s executive mayor has approved a £12.5m capital programme for the borough’s highway infrastructure for 2024-25, as well as a new five-year Highway Asset Management Strategy. |
Birmingham to lose £320m on athletes’ village sale
14/08/2024 Hundreds of homes designed to be part of an athletes’ village for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games will be sold by the council at a loss of about £320m. |
Council issues s114 warning due to SEND crisis
13/08/2024 North Somerset Council has warned that it might declare effective bankruptcy unless it receives support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Brum council spends £1m on bookkeepers
29/07/2024 Birmingham City Council has been forced to spend £1m on manual bookkeeping after the new Oracle software failed to automate the process. |
Homelessness pressures 'unsustainable'
24/07/2024 Councils face ‘unsustainable financial pressure' due to record levels of homelessness, according to a public spending watchdog. |
Birmingham commissioners warn of 'dire' finances
23/07/2024 Birmingham City Council's finances have been described as ‘dire' by commissioners as it grapples with a budget gap of up to £80m next year. |
Cash-strapped Thurrock needs to borrow £206.7m
22/07/2024 Thurrock Council needs to borrow £206.7m from the government to balance its 2023-24 budget, according to a report on the council’s financial position. |
'Nothing should be off the table' – CIPFA chief
18/07/2024 Abandoned Conservative policies for fixing local government finance should remain on the table, the new chief executive of CIPFA has said. |
Council leader resigns after bankruptcy warning
18/07/2024 The leader of Cheshire East Council resigned yesterday ahead of a vote of no confidence after a report raised serious concerns over the council’s finances. |
UNISON: To whoever forms the next government…
14/06/2024 Christina McAnea, general secretary of UNISON, tells LocalGov.co.uk what the sector’s biggest union hopes to see from the next government. |
Cash-strapped Slough BC faces going £11m over budget
13/06/2024 The leadership of Slough BC should take ‘immediate action’ as the council is at risk of going £11m over budget this year, according to cabinet papers. |
IFS: Funding increases have not reversed austerity
10/06/2024 Councils in England have outspent cash boosts in recent years, leaving core funding 18% lower per person than at the start of the 2010s, think-tank reveals. |
EXCLUSIVE: LGA starts to shift on standards
04/06/2024 Senior Local Government Association (LGA) figures expect the organisation’s reluctance to beefing up the standards regime to shift after the General Election. |
Windsor and Maidenhead council issues bankruptcy warning
23/05/2024 The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has warned it could be facing effective bankruptcy if financial support is not agreed soon. |
Selling the family silver
09/05/2024 Ryan Swift, research fellow at IPPR North, urges the next Government to stop the mass sell off of council assets. |
Gove could launch police inquiry for Birmingham
01/05/2024 Reports the levelling up secretary could send a police chief in to investigate financial mismanagement in Birmingham City Council have resurfaced. |
Brum consults on £2.3m library cuts
05/04/2024 Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council has launched a consultation on how it will cut £2.3m from its library budget. |
Public inquiry into Thurrock’s financial failure rejected
03/04/2024 The Government has rejected a request for a public inquiry into Thurrock Council’s financial failure and significant levels of debt. |
Leader of cash-strapped Notts council to step down
12/03/2024 The leader of financially stricken Nottingham City Council has announced he is stepping down in May. |
Middlesbrough avoids ‘catastrophic’ s114 with approved budget
11/03/2024 Councillors in Middlesbrough have approved a budget with ‘savings and income generation plans’ worth £13.9m. |
Sheriff of Nottingham suspended from Labour
07/03/2024 The only Nottingham City councillor to vote against budget cuts has been suspended from the Labour Party. |
Brum members approve £300m of cuts
06/03/2024 Councillors at Birmingham City Council have signed off on £300m of cuts over two years and dramatic council tax increases. |
Brum workers vote for ‘major escalation’ of equal pay dispute
05/03/2024 Workers at Birmingham City Council have voted to strike in what the union GMB describes as a ‘major escalation’ in the campaign to end the equal pay crisis. |
14 councils ‘likely’ to issue s114s next year
28/02/2024 More than half of councils are likely to issue a section 114 notice within the next parliament unless funding is reformed, senior local authority figures have warned. |
Thurrock boosted by £500m after sale
26/02/2024 Thurrock Council has received £510m in payments following the sale of Toucan Energy Holdings – the firm that triggered a section 114 notice when it collapsed. |
The financial crisis in Birmingham City Council
22/02/2024 Dr James Brackley and Prof. Adam Leaver of the Audit Reform Lab call for an urgent value for money assessment of Birmingham CC's proposed cuts and asset sales. |
Newcastle signs off on £15m spending cuts
21/02/2024 Newcastle City Council’s cabinet has approved budget proposals that will see spending cut by £15m over the next year. |
Brum set to sell off £750m of assets
20/02/2024 Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council is set to sell off £750m of assets and cut spending on services by £300m in an effort to balance the books. |
Government timetable could push councils to issue section 114s
16/02/2024 Government’s timeline for implementing changes to tackle risky borrowing by some councils could end up pushing councils into S114 territory, treasurers warn. |
Nottingham executive refuses to back budget cuts
14/02/2024 Executive members of cash-strapped Nottingham City Council have refused to recommend a report that sets out £20m in budget cuts. |
Birmingham councillors back 18% pay rise delay
08/02/2024 Councillors at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council have voted to delay pay increases for members. |
Brum granted permission to raise council tax by 10%
07/02/2024 Levelling up secretary Michael Gove has approved Birmingham City Council’s request to increase council tax by up to 10% without a local referendum. |
Bradford recruits new director of finance to avoid S114
06/02/2024 Bradford Council has brought in a new interim director of finance as part of its efforts to avoid declaring effective bankruptcy. |
Council financial crisis ‘out of control’
31/01/2024 MPs have issued a stark warning on the ‘very real’ prospect of more councils in England ‘effectively going bust’ if the Government does not address a £4bn funding gap. |
Bradford increases request for support by £22m
31/01/2024 Bradford Council has increased its request for financial help from the Government by £22m as it struggles to avoid declaring effective bankruptcy. |
Havering warns of S114 after ‘minuscule’ funding boost
26/01/2024 Havering Council will be forced to declare effective bankruptcy ‘by the end of February’ if the Government fails to provide more funding, leader warns. |
Homelessness costs could spell ‘end of local government’
24/01/2024 The increasing cost of homelessness could lead to more councils declaring effective bankruptcy and the ‘end of local government’, council leaders warn. |
Conservative MPs call for emergency funding for councils
22/01/2024 MPs representing county areas have called on the Government to provide emergency funding to cash-strapped councils to prevent further cuts to local services. |
Southampton latest to request financial support
19/01/2024 Southampton City Council has begun the ‘sensible’ process of seeking Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) as it struggles to balance its budgets. |
Middlesbrough council leaders vote to apply for £15m bailout
18/01/2024 Council leaders at Middlesbrough Council have voted unanimously to apply for a £15m bailout from the Government to avoid effective bankruptcy. |
Brum considers axing 600 jobs
17/01/2024 Birmingham City Council could be forced to axe hundreds of jobs as the struggling local authority attempts to balance its books. |
Auditor's 'significant concerns' over Dudley finances
15/01/2024 Dudley MBC has received a withering verdict on its finances from external auditor Grant Thornton as it attempts to stave off a section 114 notice. |
BCP warns of S114 risk over schools funding
15/01/2024 A growing deficit on its dedicated schools grant (DSG) could force Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council to issue a section 114 notice this year. |
40% of councils face ‘financial failure’
15/01/2024 Two in five councils in England could see their reserves drop to less than 5% of their net revenue expenditure within the next five years, new study finds. |
North Northants leader warns of ‘robust action’ to stem budget crisis
12/01/2024 The leader of North Northamptonshire Council has banned all but essential spending in an urgent bid to solve the authority’s budget pressures. |
Somerset in capitalisation request amid ‘financial emergency’
10/01/2024 Somerset Council is to seek a capitalisation direction and permission to raise council tax by up to 10% as it attempts to stave off a section 114 notice. |
Council finances ‘worsened’ since finance settlement
08/01/2024 The financial position of local authorities in urban areas has ‘worsened’ since the finance settlement last month, warns local government campaign group. |
Nottingham commissioners would 'undermine senior officers'
04/01/2024 Nottingham City Council has urged the Government not to send in commissioners to oversee the running of the authority. |
Finance watchdog launches Thurrock investigation
03/01/2024 The Financial Reporting Council has launched an investigation into the conduct of an unnamed accountant at Thurrock before it declared effective bankruptcy. |
Tax referendum cap lifted for three councils
19/12/2023 A number of councils are set to raise council tax by up to 10% next year without holding referendums. |
Nottingham holds public event to discuss cuts
18/12/2023 Nottingham City Council has announced it will be holding a public event this week to give residents more details on its financial difficulties. |
Council funding to increase 6.5%
18/12/2023 Local authorities are set to see their funding increase by 6.5% as the Government attempts to prevent more councils from declaring effective bankruptcy. |
Council warns of S114 risk over HS2 costs
15/12/2023 Cheshire East Council has warned that it may have to issue a section 114 notice after spending £11m preparing for HS2, as it continues to press for compensation. |
Bradford warns of possible s114
15/12/2023 Bradford Council has warned that it will have to issue an s114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy, unless the Government provides ‘exceptional’ support. |
Birmingham outlines £150m of cuts
14/12/2023 Birmingham City Council has outlined nearly £150m of proposed savings as it tries to plug a £300m budget gap. |
Urban councils warn of S114 ‘surge’
14/12/2023 Local authority leaders have warned the PM that the new year could see a ‘surge’ of effective bankruptcies unless there is a last-minute intervention. |
Middlesbrough proposes job cuts as it warns of ‘tough choices’
14/12/2023 Middlesbrough Council has proposed axing 75 full-time equivalent posts and cutting social care costs as it scrambles to set a balanced budget for next year. |
Government set to appoint commissioners at Nottingham
13/12/2023 The levelling up secretary is ‘minded to’ escalate government intervention at Nottingham due to ‘serious concerns’ over the city council’s finances and governance. |
Nottingham proposes cutting 550 jobs
13/12/2023 Nottingham City Council has proposed cutting 554 full-time equivalent posts in an attempt to tackle its financial shortfall. |
Brum workers consider strike over equal pay delays
12/12/2023 Thousands of workers at Birmingham City Council will today start a ballot for strike action in response to equal pay claim delays. |
One in five councils report bankruptcy fears
06/12/2023 A poll of council leaders and chief executives has revealed that one in five think it likely that their chief finance officer will need to issue a Section 114. |
Brighton’s finances in ‘perilous position’
04/12/2023 Brighton & Hove City Council’s finances are in an ‘extremely perilous position’, the local authority’s leader has warned. |
London borough applies for capitalisation direction
30/11/2023 Havering LBC is to apply for a capitalisation direction as it bids to avoid issuing a section 114 notice next year. |
Nottingham issues section 114 notice
29/11/2023 Cash-strapped Nottingham City Council has been forced to issue a section 114 notice after revealing it faces a significant in-year deficit. |
Councils ‘pushed to the brink’ by children’s social care pressures
20/11/2023 A ‘perfect storm’ of financial pressures and rising numbers of children needing support are putting local authorities at risk of bankruptcy, councils warn. |
Derbyshire denies facing ‘bankruptcy situation’
17/11/2023 Derbyshire County Council said ‘serious challenges’ lie ahead despite its progress in tackling its financial shortfall. |
