Building Healthier Communities: The Case for Investing in Public Health
Explore how targeted, community-based public health strategies can improve lives, reduce NHS pressure, and deliver cost savings for local authorities.
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. |
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. |
