Bradford council leader welcomes £220m government lifeline

The council leader welcomed the funding because Bradford's residents "need to know there will still be services there"

The leader of cash-strapped Bradford council has welcomed a government emergency funding boost of £220m over the next two years.

But Susan Hinchcliffe warned it was not a bailout and the "difficult decisions haven't gone away".

Bradford was among several local authorities to be given Exceptional Financial Support by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.

In total, 19 English councils will share an extra £1.5bn of support.

For Bradford, it amounts to £80m in 2023-24 and £140m in 2024-25.

It means the council will now be able to balance its books at its crucial budget-setting meeting next week - and will avoid effective bankruptcy in the form of a Section 114 notice, as had been feared.

But the government intervention also effectively puts the local authority on an unofficial ministerial improvement notice.

And it does not mean planned cuts of £40m announced last December - including the potential closure of three waste recycling centres and a children's residential outdoor centre, as well as the loss of more than 100 jobs - will be reversed.

'This is not free money'

Ms Hinchcliffe stressed the money was not provided as direct funding, but rather permission to borrow more, to sell off more council-owned buildings and land - and to manage its debt over the longer term.

"Just having this exceptional financial support, this loan if you like, to keep us going over the next few years - when we also have to sell assets to fund that loan - is not really going to be the answer, so that still needs answering from government," she said.

"[But] it gives the council the stability our district needs and means we will be able to present a balanced budget this year and next.

"However, this is not free money, it has to be paid back. And like all councils, we still face extremely challenging financial headwinds over the next few years, primarily due to rising demand in social care.

"The difficult decisions have not gone away."

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said the council is "not in a position" to prevent cuts

She added: "I think it's welcome news because residents need to know that there will still be services there in the short, medium and long term.

"But there will be lots of changes in the next five years. We will still pick up your bins and clean your streets, but there will be changes, which means services will be delivered differently."

The council had been facing a growing financial black hole and just a month ago, was forced to increase its plea for government help.

Bradford's £220m package is almost as much as its total annual council tax collection this year of £233m.

It is the second highest amount of emergency support given to any council - but is dwarfed by Birmingham, which will get £1.2bn of help over two years.

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, said: "We know how desperate these councils were to receive this exceptional support.

"For them, it is a last-minute reprieve that wards off immediate financial collapse. On that basis it is welcome news. But we should not mistake this for generosity on the part of the government.

"They are simply allowing councils to borrow and to sell their own assets."

Bradford Council's financial problems are largely driven by a huge overspend by its crisis hit children's services, which were taken over by an independent trust last year.

However, Ms Hinchcliffe said the Trust was "making good progress" and the council had "been working extremely hard to tackle the difficult financial challenges we face".

As part of the emergency cash agreement, Bradford Council has to set up a new independent Improvement Board to map progress of its journey to financial stability and give regular update to ministers.