All non-essential spending has stopped at Birmingham City Council as officials reckon with an expected £860m hit from historic equal pay issues and a faltering IT system implementation.
A further £760m hit to Birmingham City Council’s finances from a 2012 court ruling means the authority needs to “take all necessary steps” to cut spending and avoid issuing a Section 114 notice.
The Scottish government has succeeded in expanding subsidised early learning and childcare places, but the sector faces risks from budget, workforce and market pressures, Audit Scotland has warned.
Two county councils could issue section 114 notices “within the next year or so” as they struggle with high inflation and rising service demand without additional funding.
The soaring cost of living combined with a decade of austerity could see up to a sixth of English councils fully deplete their reserves in 2023-24 without substantial spending cuts, experts have...
Pressures stemming from the cost-of-living crisis and hitting future targets on net zero have been tipped to be key talking points at Public Finance Scotland this week.
The cost-of-living crisis is set to exacerbate existing funding constraints for councils and the social care market, and more central government funding will be necessary to avoid a winter crisis,...
Councils in England reported additional cost pressures of £12.8bn relating to Covid-19 in 2020-21, according to outturn figures from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Councils in England face setting aside an additional £2bn to help cover business rates appeals over the next two financial years due to Covid-19, unless central government support is forthcoming.
Covid-19 financial pressures for local authorities in England totalled £10.8bn during 2020, as forecast pressures for 2020-21 rose to £12.5bn, according to latest returns submitted to government.
Local authorities in the UK are set to experience higher fiscal pressures resulting from the coronavirus pandemic than other leading European nations, according to ratings agency Moody’s.
The Centre for Public Scrutiny and CIPFA have released a new guide for local authorities in England to support effective financial scrutiny following the Covid-19 pandemic.
