#local-government-finance

#local-government-finance

Croydon Council is owed more than 1.13 million in unpaid parking fines, with some drivers racking up hundreds of penalty charge notices (PCNs) without paying a penny. According to figures seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), there are 6,701 outstanding PCNs across the borough, totalling 1,134,197 in unpaid fines. The list of the top 50 worst offenders shows that several vehicles have each been issued more than 300 PCNs, with individual debts running into tens of thousands of pounds.

Birmingham city council was likely never bankrupt and the decision to issue the section 114 notice two years ago was based on unaudited and materially incorrect information, accounting experts have claimed. The Labour-run council issued a section 114 notice in September 2023, in effect declaring itself bankrupt, which triggered a wave of spending cuts and plans to sell 750m worth of assets. This prompted the government to appoint commissioners to run the council for five years.

Back in April, Newham Council got special permission to raise its council tax by 8.99 percent - nearly double the normal increase cap of 4.99 percent - in order to help it swerve bankruptcy. As Newham faces more 'difficult decisions' and a £53 million funding gap next year, a new report suggests that it could ask for permission to increase its council tax by the same amount again.

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