Cotswold District Council in bankruptcy warning
There's a warning they'll be unable to balance their books without significant changes.
Cotswold District Council is facing increasing criticism after warning of their own potential bankruptcy.
In its draft budget, councillors warned that without significant changes in the next 3 years to reduce spending and increase revenue, they'd be unable to balance their books.
Local MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown says they've been prioritising the wrong projects and services. He said: "I had to step in, because they wanted £78m on commercial investments. Fortunately I was able to persuade the government to change the rules so they couldn't do it, they were also wasting money on consultants, that alone in the last four years has cost well over £1m.
"They're probably getting more money that they've ever got from government before. They should look at the various pots of money they're getting as see what central services they can run for that money."
"The vast bulk of councils in the country are managing to make ends meet and still provide a reasonable level of service."
Deputy Leader of the Cotswold Liberal Democrats and cabinet member for finance, Mike Evemy says they've had to take £2million out of their reserves since the start of 2022.
In response, Cotswold District Council have put it down to central government being unable to provide the necessary funding to allow them to deal with inflation.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We’ve made £5.1bn of extra funding available to councils through the Local Government Finance Settlement, making almost £60bn available for the sector and up 9.4% on cash terms on 2022/2023. Cotswold District Council received £12 million through the Settlement in 2023/24 – this represents a £1 million (9%) increase from 2022/23.
“Councils are ultimately responsible for managing their own finances and should make affordable and sustainable decisions with taxpayers’ money.
“We continue to monitor all local authorities’ pressures and stand ready to talk to any council concerned about their financial position.”