Coventry City Council ‘facing bankruptcy’ without extra funding

Coventry City Council has said it could effectively declare itself bankrupt next year without additional funding from the government.

As reported this morning by Simon Gilbert at the BBC, a senior councillor has revealed the authority has forecast a £30m budget shortfall.

Richard Brown, the cabinet member for finance, said rising social care costs and inflation had hit the council’s budget.

It comes just weeks after Birmingham City Council was effectively forced to declare itself bankrupt and issued a section 114 notice.

Labour councillor Brown said taking this step could be avoided this year in Coventry but there are serious concerns over next year unless the council gets more government funding.

The BBC reports that cuts to street lighting, introducing garden waste collection charges and raising ticket prices for events like the Godiva Festival are all options being discussed by councillors.

When asked about these options, Brown said “everything is on the table”.

He claimed the council had been historically underfunded and had received £120m less each year since 2010, putting it among some of the most poorly funded in the country.

But the government disputed that, suggesting the council received an increase in spending power of up to £30.5m last year.