MP, Shadow Secretary of State
for Communities and Local
Government, responding to
a report today on the 11 local authorities most at risk
from the Government's budget cuts, said:
“Unless we see a radical change in approach from this Government,
more councils risk following Tory Northamptonshire into
bankruptcy.”
“Council budgets are now stretched to breaking point, as local
people are punished with cuts to the services they rely on. We
urgently need to see sustainable funding for our local services -
our councils cannot be allowed to collapse under this
Government’s watch”
Ends
Notes to editors
The BBC’s Political Research Unit today reported on the councils
that are under the most financial strain. It notes a recent Local
Government information Unit survey that found that 95% of
councils planned to increase council tax while two thirds had
dipped into reserves, while the LGA has said that councils will
have faced a reduction of core funding of £16bn between 2010 and
2020, a loss of 60p in every £1.
The report identifies Northamptonshire County Council, Somerset
County Council, East Sussex County Council, Birmingham City
Council, Lancashire County Council, Suffolk County Council,
Surrey County Council, Torbay Council, West Sussex County
Council, Hartlepool BC and Oxfordshire County Council as among
those facing significant financial pressures.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45435368
