Bradford taxpayers face years of debt from government support, councillors warn

The council would have effectively declared itself bankrupt without government intervention

Taxpayers in Bradford face years of extra debt as a result of government intervention in the council's finances, councillors have warned.

Last week, ministers agreed to grant Bradford Council £220m of "exceptional financial support" to avoid it effectively going bankrupt.

The council will meet on Thursday to rubber-stamp its budget for next year.

Lib Dem group leader Brendan Stubbs said the support would "weigh heavy on our district for many years to come".

Speaking ahead of Thursday's meeting, councillors welcomed the intervention but warned it would saddle taxpayers with years of extra debt and would not solve the problems long-term.

Councillor Mike Pollard, finance spokesman for the Conservatives on the council, said there were "massive underlying problems" and "onerous provisions" attached to the support.

He added the authority's "financial woes" were of the Labour-run council's own making but said the "lifeline" was nevertheless welcome.

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe insisted the authority had been working "extremely hard" to tackle its finances

Mr Stubbs said: "This £220m will need to be borrowed and repaid by the council and after years of failure, both the Labour council and the Conservative government… have chosen to get out the credit card to cover their mistakes. A credit card that local taxpayers will have to pay off over 20 years.

"The Emergency Financial Support is only for the first of the five years outlined in the council's plan to bring things under control.

"It is highly likely Bradford will return with the begging pot to government again before things are fixed."

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Bradford was one of 19 English councils to be granted emergency support last week - £80m for the current financial year and £140m for next year.

Council bosses said despite the support, they would still have to push ahead with £40m of planned cuts, closures of facilities and price rises, as well as a rise in council tax.

Councillor Matt Edwards, leader of the Greens in Bradford, said a major concern was that "residents will be paying more council tax and still be facing big cuts to services - not just in this budget but in future budget".

He added: "Whilst there are definitely failings in this current Labour administration which have led us down this path, the sheer number of Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem councils up and down the country requesting support this year shows that the real issue here is the chronic underfunding of local services by this Conservative government."

The authority'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.

Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe insisted it was "making good progress" and the council had been "working extremely hard to tackle the difficult financial challenges we face".

However Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley, said residents "should not be forced to pay the price for the disastrous financial decisions taken by the council's Labour leadership… following the children's services scandal".

He said that right up to the night before last week's announcement of government support, he had been holding urgent meetings with Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove, as doing nothing would have "crippled the district".

He said the Labour leadership "need to be held accountable" for their role in the current financial crisis.