Southampton City Council has begun the ‘sensible’ process of seeking Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) as it struggles to balance its budgets.
Despite finding more than £16m in savings for this year and £22m for 2024-25, the local authority said it is still forecasting shortfalls for both years.
Council leader Lorna Fielker said Southampton had been clear ‘for some time’ that seeking EFS was a 'real possibility' given the authority's budget pressures.
Cllr Fielker said: ‘I can confirm that we have started the process for seeking EFS.
‘This is a sensible course of action taken by a number of other local authorities and we await a response from the Government as to the next steps.’
Just this week, both Nottingham City Council and Middlesbrough Council confirmed that they would also seek support through the EFS framework.
