LDRSNottingham, Birmingham and Woking councils all went bust in 2023. They followed and Thurrock and Croydon (for the third time) in 2022 – with half of councils warning of effective bankruptcy within five years without reform.
Councils technically can’t go bankrupt – but they can issue what’s called a section 114 notice, where they can’t commit to any new spending, and must come back with a new budget within 21 days that falls in their spending envelope.
And when they do, it often means an impact on residents with severe cuts to frontline services.
Councils are required by law to have a balanced budget each financial year and provide “Best Value” to…
