Is anyone worried about their council going bust?

[PassingStranger]

It was on the news this morning that alot of councils are very close to going bust.
Services are having to be cut again and council tax going up?

What would happen if your council went bust?
Is there a way to find out how your council is doing?
Anyone worried like me? Xx

My council almost certainly will. The costs they need to meet on the funding they receive are unsustainable.

If the Tories stay in it will happen. They've publicly said they are against local authorities in the past-at least, Boris Johnson was open about it. Still, I suppose some of the services they consider basic will be provided by contractors, all tendered and organised fairly, of course!

The budget setting for councils for the next financial year has to happen legally by 11 March each year.

Your local council's budget setting will be this month, and the reports will contain info on Council Tax increases, The Budget 24/25, and Medium Term Financial Strategy. That will give you a good indication of the state of play.

If a Council does go bust (section 114), then all but essential services will be cut, and commissioners will come in to run things. They will also likely need a financial bail out that needs to be re-paid. Usually, though a sale of assets. I think about 18 councils have gone bust over recent years.

Our council says it's okay with no concerns about going bust but tough decisions are ahead. 🤷 Who knows, we seem to pay a fortune on band D.

Yes, because I work for them and my job is at risk if they do.

Ours just put up car parking every week it seems. Now to pop to the city centre it will cost you £5000 an hour. Long term it's not a good strategy as people just drive off to the free out of town shopping centre 40 mins away leaving the city centre empty.

I have enough to worry about with Putin and threats of a world war I can't get het up about Councils going bust. As long as bins are emptied that will do me.

Councils going bust is more likely to have a direct effect on you than Putin shouting his mouth off.

Slightly. I know a lot of people who work for them, including a family member and 2 close friends.

"I have enough to worry about with Putin and threats of a world war I can't get het up about Councils going bust."

Really?

I'm surprised mine wasn't the first to go bankrupt honestly.

Places like Medway I worry more for. There is a lot of poverty in Medway and parts of it are already quite grim. I can't see how they will cope long term without it getting more deprived. It's quite a contrast to Woking which feels all new and shiny.

I don't think anywhere is safe. Not enough investment in prevention of SC costs and expensive reactionary attitudes.

Like my ds 60k pa school. Zero interest in getting him pre school speech therapy as must hoard the pennies, well that paid off when he still couldn't talk at 7. Would he have been at cheaper if he had early intervention? I really think it would. Lots of the SEN costs are due to too little to late.

Thank you, @Crabwoman. That was a thoughtful and informed post.

I work for a London council, they're in a lot of debt and there's another round of redundancies due in a few weeks.

Apart from axing a massive amount of their workforce, they're also building massive tower blocks absolutely everywhere to claw their way out of debt.

It's a case of suck it and see.

I'd like to know what happens if it does?

Our council is one of the ones doing the "safety valve" meaning LESS sen provision which will completely backfire

And car parking costs are going up.

But yay for LTNs and cycle lanes right?!?!!

I work in internal audit in a large local government.
Things are dire! Not so much for my council, but across most of the country.
It's the cost of social care placements in light of inflation which seems to have been the straw that broke the camels back.

I hope not. I work for them!

Mine did! The town centre is run down, people complain about bin collections and my BAND D CTAX is increasing again to a whopping £2352 pa 😭.

Parking is currently £4 ph, so everyone goes shopping in the two neighbouring boroughs.

So many redundancies and reshuffles and our residents just look ‘done’.

It’s dire.

Whoever voted for brexit, tories, Sadiqque Khan the rest of the idiots is to blame. I can hold my head high and say I DIDNT

My Borough is in the top 12 highest rates of council tax in the UK. Its actually ridiculous - cars are being broken from pot holes, leisure centres shutting down for good, fly tipping in the urban areas is sickening. We have public structures which should be on a 10 year (or less) redecorate and repair schedule not been touched for 20 years+, they are just haemoraging money on care (adult care, Foster and educational placements etc).

Social Care needs to be funded directly from governments, not from council taxes.

Meanwhile Band D in Westminster and City of London is about £800pa

Our council is saying they’re having to cut back xyz as short of money.

But then announced they’re about to spend £2million digging up about 500 yds of road and relaying it due to the surface I drive this road twice a day and never noticed a problem unlike some pothole ridden roads.

£2million and seven months of chaos. But money comes out a different budget apparently

You can’t worry too much. Theyre all in a bad position across the country

Ours already has. I've not noticed a difference yet.

Our local council has just cut funding for the entire arts programme

It's bloody awful - our council tax is already £350 a month. The council are raising by 5% again this year yet the services are non-existent. Our rubbish collection is now fortnightly, the roads are full of holes, our library is only open 2 days a week. I don't see how they can justify the increase.