COVENTRY City Council says it has heard nothing from the Government about its pending financial crisis despite sending an urgent letter a month ago.
Council bosses wrote to Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove claiming, like neighbours Birmingham, it was facing the prospect of issuing a Section 114 notice and pleading for financial help.
In the letter, councillors claimed shortages in government funding meant the authority could no longer keep pace with demand.
A Section 114 notice is issued if a local authority has no prospect of setting a balanced or lawful budget and has inadequate reserves to meet emergencies.
This week emergency measures were announced for Birmingham City Council with commissioners appointed to oversee the running of the authority following its Section 114 revelation earlier this month.
Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for strategic finance and resources, Coun Richard Brown, said the government’s silence meant he still had a ‘glimmer of hope’ it would step in to help save local authorities from ‘the precipice of financial disaster’.
He told the Observer: “The money is there, if Mr Gove is serious about levelling up he could do this very quickly and there are many local authorities in a similar situation.
“There is an autumn statement coming up so hopefully the government will understand these aren’t just isolated cases and act.”
This follows the city council’s admission last month it was heading towards a ‘tipping point’ after announcing a forecast overspend of £12.1million in its first financial monitoring report of the year.
Coun Brown said the council was already looking at a £20million gap for the 2024/25 budget before this forecast overspend.”
He said, since 2010, the council had received £120million less each year – the equivalent of a real terms cut in core spending power of £678 per household between 2010/11 and 2023/24.
“Whilst we believe this situation can only be mitigated by long-term funding reform, in the short-term we are calling on the department to assist”.
He also called on Mr Gove to visit Coventry for further discussions.
The Observer has made numerous attempts to contact the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities via phone and e-mail but was still awaiting comment today, as we went to press.
