UK town halls are slashing spending on everything from parks to adult social care and the arts in the face of an unprecedented funding crisis. Long-running financial pressures caused by central government cuts, rising demand for services and risky investment bets have been compounded by double-digit inflation, pushing many councils deep into debt. The crisis has already claimed high-profile victims including Birmingham, Europe’s largest local authority, and there are warnings that more municipalities could go bankrupt in the run-up to national elections later this year.
Birmingham, Nottingham and Woking effectively declared bankruptcy by issuing so-called section 114 notices last year and are now making deep cuts to local services….
