Slough Borough Council's finances 'extremely difficult', says report

The council's debt has now reduced to £680m, according to a report

A council which declared bankruptcy last summer may need to increase council tax past the 1.99% cap as its financial position "remains extremely serious".

Slough residents may face a council tax increase ranging between 12% and 20% over the next three years.

The commissioners overseeing Slough Borough Council's recovery confirmed the news in an official report.

The authority said it accepted the "seriousness" of its situation.

The council - which is facing a £479m blackhole - was forced to declare bankruptcy last year, with £760m of borrowed debt.

This was caused by historic accounting errors and the council borrowing excessively to purchase land and properties, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In their first report, commissioners said some of this was down to a lack of competence by a range of officers and by more deliberate action.

They also said they were "not certain" the authority would be able to recover without continued "unprecedented" support by government.

The council would need financial support for at least six to eight years, according to the commissioners.

'Extremely serious'

To reduce its debt, the council needs to make £20m savings every year until 2029 and sell up to £600m-worth of its assets over the next three years.

But the commissioners said they were "not confident" they would sell the land and properties in time.

The Levelling Up Secretary Paul Scully concluded the council was "still failing" and was not implementing the requirements set out by the government.

Council leader James Swindlehurst said the authority's financial position remained "extremely serious".

He said the authority had always accepted "the seriousness" of its situation and "the difficult decisions" ahead.

He added: "If the processes and arrangements to recruit a strong officer team can be streamlined or simplified, so we can move forward and restore staff capabilities more swiftly until the council is further stabilised, then we accept this will also assist the council's recovery."