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

I strongly suspect that if all councils were run by external commissioners rather than self-satisfied councillors and their mates on the executive they’d all be better and more cost effective.

I really don’t envy the jobs of Monitoring Officers.

My husband is a manager in finance for our local council, so no I’m not worried we will go bust. But he has been predicting all these issues and deficits for years… just no one listens.

Birmingham has already gone bust and in local newspapers it was reported they have to pay a 10 percent rise in council tax this year and another 10 percent next year. I'm in Staffordshire and we've been told 5 percent. Birmingham not only has many cycle lanes they have signs that light up to say how many cyclist have been cycling along a road in one day. It's such a waste of money. Adult care sucks all the funds up. I do think once people reach 50 they should have to pay additional tax to pay towards social care should they need it. 50 would be a good age to introduce it as DC would be growing up.

Public toilets wow. There aren't enough of those as it is? Xx

I work for mine. I'm absolutely worried.

Maybe Sen children should just be told to stay at home and not allowed to attend school that would save a fortune as it was also save the schooling costs.

It's a core service and ehcps are legally binding. But I'm in your shoes and it worrys me too. However no where else can meet my sons needs

The LTNs round here have been an unmitigated disaster, but they have netted the council huge suns by way of fines. That’s the only reason they’ve been implemented as far as I can see. I hate them and the inequality they entrench.

amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/14/cheshire-east-council-says-it-faces-bankruptcy-due-to-hs2-link-cancellation

This☝️is why our shower of shite is about to go under.

I think the greatest travesty in the case of Woking and Thurrock was how on earth the governance system failed to such a degree that the council was allowed to invest in ‘magic beans’ type schemes and no one objected... Thurrock in particular is a case that particularly stinks. They literally gave away millions to a conman without the stipulation that it had to even be specifically spent on the magic beans….breathtaking. And those responsible seem to have got away with it. Police apparently say they can’t find anything to prosecute so fingers crossed ITV commissions a drama on it. Absolutely disgusting.

Someone mentioned the costs associated with getting children to school via the use of private taxis. A teacher friend of mine was talking about this recently and I couldn't believe the costs involved for ferrying ONE child to/from school via private taxi - it was astronomical. It sounds like a total cartel.

After our council merged with others to form Somerset Council, our council tax is going up by 23% (from memory!). Could be worse- next town across is increasing by 163%- yes there's was lower but it's an area of deprivation and either way, crazy amount to go up by!)

Buckingham Palace’s council tax is cheaper than a 3bed in Blackpool apparently…

Taking it out on cycle infrastructure and LTNs is completely misguided - councils spend far more per mile traveled supporting car centric infrastructure!
https://www.ippr.org/media-office/years-of-under-investment-in-englands-streets-has-left-people-walk-wary-and-cycle-cautious-says-new-report

It's our young here suffering the most as well as a 15% reduction in education, the paddling pools never opened last summer, tennis courts closed. This year could be libraries. More public loos closed.

Carers for the elderly here should be means tested. Two houses in our cul de sac, elderly couple had carers up to four times a day when the neighbours couldn't help her because of intimate health issues.

Another elderly lady had two carers four times a day. We begged her son to look for a residential home, he refused .

All three had excellent pensions, a lot of investments. They deserved better care but the offspring wanted to protect their inheritances. Some people are wicked.

https://propertydata.co.uk/council-tax

council tax index for anyone interested… I am in a ‘very high borough’ & I’m not surprised. lol at the cheapest…

I mean it’s bad if the gov cancelling hs2 has caused this but why does a council need to spend £11 million on a report preparing for hs2? Am I missing something? Surely the govt would be doing all the spending of hs2 is their project?

It is means tested. Four double up calls a day is still likely to be cheaper than residential care and many people are better off in their own homes.

From memory I think they had to bid to have a hub station in the area, perhaps it was that? At the time likely an “invest to save” situation thinking the hub would bring a return and then some.

Christ, that is terrifying!

Maximum payment for carers means tested is £100 per week in our council. I don't know how much in neighbouring councils

Same with ours. And, yes, I am worried about them going bust (although bizarrely they have a bottomless pit of money for cycle lanes)!

I'm fed up with the roadworks related to creating cycle lanes, while the potholes increase. But I think the lanes come out of the central government purse

I work for my local council in library services so very worried, we are ok for next year and possibly the year after but then reserves will be gone.
The council in general and particularly the department libraries comes under are an aging work force which brings its own challenges and pressures, lots of sickness, lots of people over the age of retirement, in some cases so old they can’t actually do the basics of the job let alone add value to the service, still being paid a full wage, full pension contributions, up to 6 months full sick pay a year, it is not allowed to even hint that these people should retire.
Very stuck in the ways of old and not able to adapt change or modernise their thinking.
Of course when redundancies come the same people will be raking it in.
That’s my main hope is that people with long service will take the voluntary redundancies and leave some jobs for the rest of us.
There is a lot of waste, a lot of time wasting, it’s hard/almost impossible to get rid of useless lazy people, everything takes ages.
From application to onboarding for my job took over 2 months, that is not normal at all in the private sector industry I moved from.
I love my job and I’m passionate about the work we do, I truly believe you cannot call yourself a civilised society without free access to libraries for all, it’s so important and the service is increasingly a lifeline for so many vulnerable people I dread to think what would happen to some of them if we couldn’t open our doors every day.

The means test is set nationally. Broadly, if they have income/savings/capital over £23,500 they’ll be paying the cost of care themselves in full. Councils simply don’t have the funds to cap contributions at £100/week. That’s assuming you’re in England though.