Thurrock Council expecting £182.5m in government help

Thurrock Council warned it was in "financial distress" in December and asked the government for help

A council that is effectively bankrupt is expecting to receive £182.5m in government support over the next year to help fund services and commitments.

The funding would cover 57% of Thurrock Council's expenditure and pay for social care, refuse collection and road maintenance, it said.

The local authority has a £469m blackhole this current financial year and an additional £184m for 2023-24.

It revealed the "exceptional financial support" in papers published on Friday.

The documents include a letter from the Conservative-controlled council to the government on 22 December, which outlined its precarious financial state.

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Leader Mark Coxshall, interim chief executive officer Ian Wake and Essex County Council Commissioner Nicole Wood warned "the scale of the issue at Thurrock Council is so profound that the levers currently available to the council are not sufficient to achieve financial sustainability, even over a long term period, and we will continue to discuss creative options with your officials".

By the end of March, Thurrock Council's total borrowing will stand at £1.511bn. Most of that - £1.26bn - is made up of loans from the Public Works Loan Board which the local authority has used to pay back other councils, which it borrowed millions from to invest.

The council has proposed increasing council tax by the maximum allowed - without causing a referendum - of 4.99%.

The authority's papers state that Thurrock residents pay less tax than other authorities, with A, B and D properties Southend paying 8.4% more council tax and Medway in Kent 10.9% more.

This could mean the government gives Thurrock Council the ability to raise council tax beyond the cap.

Councillors have suggested the authority is considering raising it in line with inflation to about11%.

The documents note that the budget process will continue during 2023-24 "with more savings required to council services".