Newly published draft statements of accounts for three financial years will contribute to “more robust” reporting in the future at Woking Borough Council, its political finance lead has said.
High service demand, rising costs and the large ringfencing of budgets could see 24% of Scottish councils issue Section 114 notices next year, the Local Government Information Unit has said.
Some councils have been overstating their financial woes, levelling up secretary Michael Gove has claimed, as authorities deal with rising demand and high costs.
An unaddressed “structural” budget deficit and a lack of usable reserves mean Birmingham City Council must make £200m of cuts in the next two years, casting doubt over its ability to set a lawful...
Growing costs of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities are creating huge deficits in school budgets and could force some councils to issue Section 114 notices, a senior...
Continued high demand following more than a decade of funding cuts could put outer-London boroughs at risk of issuing Section 114 notices in the next 12 months, a senior officer has said.
An improvement board of senior local government experts will support Southampton City Council amid concerns from external auditors who have warned there is a “real” threat of a Section 114 notice.
The council in the country’s second-largest city has issued a Section 114 notice as it faces down an £87m budget gap this year and an equal pay liability of three-quarters of a billion pounds.
Woking was lent millions of pounds of public money just two days before the government published a damning review into its finances and sent in commissioners, leading to accusations of a “lack of any...
The high-profile failures of councils in Woking and Thurrock demonstrate the importance of a strong and well-understood local audit system, which has arguably been lost, two senior voices in the...
The council’s additional minimum revenue provision this year – after being under-calculated for more than a decade – is nearly six times its core funding.
London’s Croydon Council cannot balance its 2023-24 budget without help from the government, its Section 151 officer has said as she issued the authority’s third Section 114 notice in 24 months.
Legislation aimed at flagging up financial issues in UK local authorities is outdated and needs an overhaul, according to London Borough of Croydon's interim finance chief.
The current system, rather than building in checks and balances, has built a bank of spectators unable or unwilling to intervene until the vehicle has crashed, says councillor Graham Chapman.
The Local Government Association has launched an investigation into whether disciplinary action should be taken in relation to senior management actions at financially-stricken London Borough of...
In February 2018, Mark McLaughlin became the first section 151 officer in almost 20 years to issue a section 114 notice. Writing exclusively for PF, Northamptonshire’s former finance director makes a...
Croydon Council has issued a section 114 notice banning all non-essential spending, due to the “severe ongoing financial challenges” facing the authority.
