A growing number of councils are warning that the skyrocketing cost of providing services is pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy. Eight English town halls have gone bust since 2018, including Croydon, Woking, Nottingham, Birmingham and Thurrock, and many more are now teetering on the edge.
Local authorities face “unsustainable” pressure sparked increasingly by record numbers of families living in temporary accommodation, according a Public Accounts Committee report published on Friday. The committee found councils across England are at “breaking point” as they “haemorrhage funds”. Its Conservative chair Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said there “seems to be no desire to move away from an unsatisfactory short-term system”.
London Councils warned that skyrocketing homelessness in the capital is “pushing boroughs to the brink”, with unsustainable pressure hitting budgets. Four boroughs - Havering, Croydon, Newham and Lambeth, have so far this year revealed requests for emergency Government support in a bid to balance the books.
This will have an impact on council tax bills, set to rise in April. Local authorities can usually only raise council tax by up to 5% without triggering a referendum. However, one town hall is seeking special government permission to increase council tax by a massive 10% in a bid to avoid going bust, while others are expected to follow.
