Councils allowed 'exceptional' government funds

Twenty nine councils in England will be allowed to relax budgeting rules for 2025/26

Six London councils are being allowed by the government to relax funding rules as they struggle to balance their budgets, it has been announced.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said that Barnet, Croydon, Enfield, Haringey, Havering and Newham are among those affected for the coming financial year.

The government said: "We are under no illusion of the state of council finances and have been clear from the outset on our commitment to get councils back on their feet."

London Councils, an umbrella group for authorities in the capital, said the extra budget flexibility was a "short-term measure" that "leaves us with more long-term debts to worry about".

For the financial year 2025/26, the six London councils are being allowed to borrow money or sell assets to raise the following extra funds:

• Croydon: £136m

• Havering: £88m

• Barnet: £55.7m

• Newham: £51.2m

• Haringey: £37m

• Enfield: £10m

• Lambeth: £40m specifically to manage financial pressures within its Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

Twenty four other councils across England have been allocated the "exceptional support", including Birmingham which will be given £180m and Bradford which was allocated £127.1m.

Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon, encouraged council leaders to "come in confidence" to the government for help.

"Be assured we will offer a relationship of partnership - not punishment - in our joint mission to improve public services for communities and create economic stability," he said.