The city of Birmingham has issued what is known as a section 114 notice. This signals that the council is unable to balance its budget, due to lack of financial resources.
That the largest local authority in Europe and the second largest city in the UK should effectively declare itself bankrupt should come as no surprise. More than a decade of austerity in English local government has squeezed local councils to their utter financial limits.
Government grants are expected to total £61.7 billion in 2023-24. That represents a £1.9 billion (3.2%) increase in real terms over 2022-23 budget data.
However, this recent reversal in local government funding is not enough to offset the decade-long cuts to government funding. In July…
