Council to avoid bankruptcy, says finance chief

Kirklees Council said in September it needed to make savings of almost £47m

Kirklees Council has said it will not have to issue a Section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself bankrupt.

The authority said in September it needed to make savings of almost £47m or it risked having to issue the notice like other authorities such as Birmingham and Nottingham.

Cllr Graham Turner, who is responsible for finance and regeneration, said the authority had taken "tough decisions" and was now on course to deliver a balanced budget next month.

The government said in January it would give local authorities an extra £600m to help alleviate some of their financial pressures.

Kirklees Council announced a raft of savings measures in September, including proposals to close two dementia care homes and three leisure centres operated by Kirklees Active Leisure.

It later said the Colne Valley Leisure Centre and Batley Sports and Leisure Centre would stay open after a consultation received 17,800 responses.

But the local authority said it was unable to reopen Dewsbury Sports Centre and was working with the local community to "explore further options".

In January, Kirklees Council said Castle Grange in Huddersfield and Claremont House in Heckmondwike would also stay open.

The council said it would seek to transfer the care homes to the independent sector but would continue to operate them if unsuccessful.

Councillors 'doing their best'

It said it was looking at further efficiencies such as a review of libraries in the district, which could mean further integration of libraries and customer service centres.

The authority is also looking at raising extra money through increasing charges for services and introducing car parking charges in places like Honley and Meltham.

Mr Turner told the BBC the council still had to make "significant savings", although its projected overspend had fallen from £16.1m to £9.9m.

He said councillors were "doing their best, they don't want to cut services" but still had to make tough decisions.

In January, the government said England's local authorities would receive a £600m funding boost following recent warnings of further bankruptcies.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said they would share £500m to help fund children's and adult social care.

In December, he announced a total of £64bn would be made available to councils for 2024-25.

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