City has most debt of any council in the country

Birmingham City Council has almost £3bn of debt

Birmingham City Council has the most debt of any council in the country - according to BBC analysis.

The council owes more than £2.9bn to lenders, placing it ahead of Leeds on £2.2bn and Woking on £1.9bn.

Independent commissioners were brought in to help the authority plug a £300m gap over the next two years.

But council bosses say it is no surprise Birmingham tops the list as it is the largest local authority in the country.

Birmingham's total debt amounts to £2,582 per person based on figures from the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities.

Looking at the total debt divided by the population, Birmingham ranks 41st in the UK out of 386 councils.

The BBC's Shared Data Unit found the total debt per person in Birmingham is £2,582. Woking council topped the list with debts of £18,756 per person.

The Labour-run city council declared effective bankruptcy in September after its financial struggles were compounded by equal pay claims totalling around £760m and an £80m overspend on an IT system.

"Birmingham is the largest local authority in the UK, which gives important context to these figures. However, the council’s level of debt per head of population is far lower than many of the largest local authorities across the country," the council said in a statement.

'Isn't sustainable'

The Conservative council opposition were critical of the figures and said they would get worse in the near future.

Opposition leader Robert Alden said: "Ultimately all the debt the Labour council are incurring will need to be repaid – and of course, by selling off assets, some of which currently produce an income, that could land residents with footing an even larger bill.

"This whole situation quite frankly, isn’t sustainable."

The council is due to set its budget next month.

The BBC recently revealed the council had asked the government for permission to raise council tax by up to 10% each year for the next two years.