Thurrock

10/26 Thurrock receives £200m debt support despite ‘dangerous precedent’ concerns

05/26 Essex LGR decision ‘tainted by irrationality’

05/26 Dan Bates: the opening day financial positions of new unitaries

04/26 Businessman took ‘substantial part’ of £130m Thurrock investment

03/26 Government to repay £200m of Thurrock’s debt as four LGR decisions are made

02/26 More councils see exceptional financial support requests granted for 2026/27

01/26 Finance team recruitment struggle a ‘risk’ to recovering Thurrock

12/25 2025 in review part one: January to June

10/25 Woking and Spelthorne to be exempt from Section 24 directions as part of LGR

10/25 Two-unitary Surrey LGR proposal chosen as government repays £500m of Woking’s debt

09/25 Essex asks government to cover £74m LGR costs and resolve debt issue

09/25 The debt debate: why council borrowing headlines miss the point

09/25 Power grab or driver of change? The Devolution Bill debated

08/25 LGR savings picture clouded by government’s lack of own analysis

08/25 Jane West to leave Croydon s151 role

08/25 Local authority debt in the spotlight as £2.9bn of assets sold in two years

07/25 Croydon commissioners confirmed; Thurrock intervention extended

07/25 Phone a friend: why treasury advisors are a lifeline, not a luxury

06/25 5% council tax increases ‘baked in’ to three-year settlement, confirms Treasury

06/25 Croydon calls for debt write-off following Woking and Thurrock decisions

06/25 Thurrock’s £1.1bn debt and structural deficit prompts intervention extension

06/25 Government reaffirms support for Woking’s irrecoverable debt

06/25 David Janes: local authority investment in low carbon energy

06/25 Thurrock welcomes Serious Fraud Office investigation into bond schemes

05/25 Reorganisation a ‘shadow hanging over’ Woking until unitary created

05/25 Warrington’s ‘high risk’ portfolio under fire as minister outlines anti-investment arm stance

05/25 LGR ‘financially beneficial’ but won’t plug Surrey’s projected budget gap

05/25 FRC sanctions former Thurrock s151 officer

05/25 System repair needed not ‘meaning of life’ debate, says Jim McMahon

05/25 Woking and Thurrock to receive debt bailouts from government

04/25 Thurrock to refinance £215m in low-rate PWLB loans amid market volatility

04/25 Thurrock finance commissioner appointed

03/25 ‘Naughty lists’ in council lending market risk breaking the system

03/25 Major DSG deficit concerns continue to be highlighted in financial monitoring reports

03/25 Woking and Thurrock show progress, but financial risks remain, say commissioners

02/25 Thurrock suspends legal dispute against APSE

02/25 The blame game: why are s151 officers always in the firing line?

02/25 Council funding crisis deepens as 30 authorities granted EFS

02/25 FRC launches investigation as Woking seeks £171m of EFS

01/25 Reorganising to survive: can devolution solve local government’s financial crisis?

01/25 Nicole Wood appointed chief executive of Essex County Council

12/24 2024 in review part two: July to December

11/24 Thurrock legal claim against 23 councils confirmed

11/24 Thurrock and APSE: a dispute like no other that has broad financial and best value implications

10/24 ‘If we don’t transform, we won’t exist’: innovating in a financial crisis

10/24 Would a standardised approach to inter-authority lending criteria avert fears over ‘reputational risk’?

09/24 ‘Reputational risks’ impact inter-authority lending amid debt scrutiny

09/24 UNISON: councils ‘teetering on the brink of financial disaster’

08/24 Spike in short-term government lending to local authorities

08/24 Thurrock accuses businessman of misusing £150m ‘largely for personal benefit’

07/24 Manchester City Council to refinance £400m of borrowing over coming years

07/24 Thurrock requires £26.5m more in borrowing to balance budget

07/24 Borrowing trends: is the local government debt trajectory sustainable?

06/24 Political parties’ ‘silence’ on local government finance likely to push more councils to the brink

04/24 Government rejects public inquiry into Thurrock failings

03/24 Inter-authority lending market: invest now ‘to make hay while the sun shines’

03/24 LATIF North in review: charting a future course

03/24 Housing151: government must take a ‘more sensible’ attitude towards debt

03/24 Local government minister reports good progress at Liverpool and Thurrock as Sandwell intervention ends

02/24 Government approves capitalisation directions at 19 councils

02/24 Tony McArdle and Margaret Lee appointed as Nottingham commissioners

02/24 95% of authorities to implement maximum council tax

02/24 ‘We have a long-term solution to local authority finance woes government can quickly adopt’: Christian Wall and June Matte interview

02/24 Steven Mair appointed as Bradford’s director of finance

01/24 Thurrock sells solar farm portfolio for £700m

01/24 Somerset seeks to increase council tax to 10% to bridge £100m overspend

01/24 FRC to carry out investigation into Thurrock’s failed investment strategies

12/23 2023 in review: the best stories in local government finance

12/23 Provisional local government settlement offers 6.5% funding increase but “fails to ease” long-term crisis

11/23 Nick Haverly: love it or list it? Balancing council finances through property disposal

11/23 Max Caller: an s114 is a sign of failure on behalf of the officers, the members or both

10/23 Dan Bates: councils are more than the sum of their debt

10/23 Government appoints new commissioners at Thurrock Council

10/23 Reputational damage driving fall in local-to-local loans market

09/23 Councils face funding shortfall exceeding £3.5bn

09/23 LATIF and Finance Directors’ Summit in review: finding solutions to a sea of challenges

09/23 Thurrock commissioners: authority still at ‘risk’ despite ‘good progress’

09/23 Chris Buss: is the wolf really at the door now?

09/23 Birmingham City Council issues section 114 notice

08/23 Michael Hudson interview: ‘my focus is on the customer journey, experience and outcome’

08/23 Stephen Sheen: local authority financial failure and the mystery of the lost audit objective

07/23 Arlingclose implicates “too late and too weak” regulators in slew of section 114 notices

07/23 The recent spate of s114 warnings is ‘deeply troubling’ for local government

07/23 OBR: £96bn local authority borrowing presents ‘risk’ to public finances

07/23 Conrad Hall: who broke my local council?

07/23 From the LGA conference room: Michael Gove shapes Oflog’s purpose

06/23 PAC: audit delays impeding accountability for £100bn of council spending

06/23 Thurrock’s failings laid bare: DLUHC publishes damning report into council’s ‘systemic weaknesses’

06/23 Published 22/23 draft accounts show ‘worrying’ decrease in councils’ reserves

04/23 Current funding systems ‘aren’t fit for purpose’ says Oadby and Wigston as it welcomes government intervention

03/23 Govt ‘minded’ to give Thurrock, Slough and Croydon cash injection of nearly £900m

02/23 Council failure and the ‘West Didsbury Question’

02/23 Districts ‘disappointed’ at final finance settlement

01/23 Thurrock plans to receive £182.5m of government support

01/23 Gove announces further intervention in Thurrock

01/23 Thurrock proposes council tax increase above referendum limit

12/22 Thurrock’s s151 issues section 114 notice

12/22 Thurrock Council ‘facing s114 before Christmas’

11/22 Thurrock’s failed investments cause £469m funding gap

10/22 Thurrock’s s151 says council faces ‘significant risk’ from £836m PWLB borrowing

10/22 Levelling up secretary warns of ‘consequences’ for councils that mismanage finances

09/22 Clark announces intervention into Thurrock Council as leader resigns

03/22 Finding private sector solutions to the housing crisis

12/19 Room 151’s top news stories of 2019

10/19 Rise in council spending on land and buildings slows

09/19 Warrington to launch £75m social impact investment fund

07/19 Thurrock winning fraud battle

07/19 Thurrock claims lending drop after BBC report

06/19 Councils slam ‘misleading’ BBC reserves danger list

11/18 Essex Pension fund to award property mandate

10/18 Warrington doubles down on solar farm investments

04/18 Half of councils ‘draw down on reserves’

09/17 CIPFA president Andrew Burns on LATIF 2017 and the drivers of commercial investment

05/17 Solar Bond investments: A lightbulb opportunity for council investment

05/17 Virgin Media rates appeal prompts £180m in provisions

04/17 Three councils combine to invest £12m in solar farm bond