Woking

09/26 Government begins repayment of Woking’s £2bn debt  

07/26 How LGR will impact West Surrey councils in 2026/27: MyCouncil analysis

07/26 Single commissioner team to work at Woking and Spelthorne amid best value updates

06/26 Stephen Fitzgerald interview: Woking’s s151 on financial stability, debt, LGR and ‘remembering the end user’

05/26 Ministers ‘will not arbitrate’ on Surrey disaggregation

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

03/26 ‘Significant progress’ at Woking as finance pressures ease

03/26 S151s should ‘be subject to proper scrutiny’ during LGR, claims MP

02/26 EFS ‘important step’ in Woking’s contribution to new West Surrey unitary

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

02/26 ‘Significant challenges’ remain for Spelthorne despite debt restructuring

12/25 2025 in review part two: July to December

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

12/25 Focus on commercial programme needed as Woking commissioners’ report published

11/25 Ian O’Donnell: Bad company

11/25 Woking finance commissioner reappointed

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

10/25 LGR decision in Surrey delayed to late October

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

09/25 LGPS funds face legal challenge over links to Israeli human rights abuses

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

08/25 Surrey under pressure to divest from companies funding war in Gaza

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

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

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

04/25 Commissioner appointed to help heal Woking finances

03/25 Commissioners to step in at Spelthorne – despite property portfolio generating £49m this year and reorganisation looming

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

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 Carol Culley takes on executive director and s151 role at Birmingham

12/24 Chris Buss: we’ve started, so we’ll finish – or will they?

11/24 Value of Woking’s realisable assets less than half its £2.1bn debt

11/24 Woking considers restructuring loan to local school

11/24 ‘Potentially unlawful’ activity uncovered at Woking in Grant Thornton report

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

09/24 Local authorities handle 38% increase in health-related benefit claims in four years

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

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

02/24 Government approves capitalisation directions at 19 councils

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

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

12/23 Sir Tony Redmond goes into Woking as lead commissioner

12/23 Liverpool to regain some powers but intervention is ‘likely’ to continue

12/23 Government ‘minded to’ send commissioners into Nottingham

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

11/23 Woking receives approval to borrow extra £78m from PWLB

10/23 ‘Most difficult decisions yet to come’ say Woking commissioners in first report

10/23 Woking requests £58m of government funding to complete regeneration project

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

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

10/23 Leigh Whitehouse interview: councils have ‘got the power to get through’ financial difficulty

09/23 Councils face funding shortfall exceeding £3.5bn

09/23 Making sense of the local council financial crisis across England

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

09/23 Surrey Heath faces ‘effective bankruptcy’ due to costly investments

09/23 Richard Harbord: no easy path to sustainable local government

09/23 ‘Stark’ service cuts at Woking as ‘things will get worse before they get better’

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

09/23 Birmingham City Council issues section 114 notice

09/23 Manchester faces budget gap of more than £70m over medium term

08/23 Woking appoints Eugene Walker as interim s151; adopts ‘vital’ improvement and recovery plan

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

08/23 Woking drafts improvement and recovery plan to become ‘smaller, leaner and focused on core services’

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 Oflog data reveals the scale of Surrey’s debt-ridden councils

07/23 More councils heading for section 114 notices, fears Woking’s interim director of finance

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

07/23 Oflog established to increase the ‘transparency’ of councils and identify those in trouble

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

06/23 Woking must ask government for significant financial support and make immediate “difficult decisions”, says chief executive

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

06/23 Nathan Elvery: is your borrowing on solid grounds?

06/23 Adele Taylor interview: ‘I’m a fixer who relishes a challenge and wants to inspire others’

06/23 Councils refrain from PWLB borrowing due to economic instability

06/23 Woking: where did it all go wrong?

06/23 Woking Council issues s114 notice as it faces ‘unbridgeable’ deficit of £1.2bn

06/23 Manchester reports manageable £4.5m overspend against 2022/23 budget

05/23 Woking Council to pause rollout of regeneration project due to high debt

05/23 Woking placed under government intervention following review; commissioners appointed

05/23 Woking faces £490m write-down of assets

05/23 Woking’s leader warns of financial challenges ahead following local elections

02/23 Woking Borough Council in ‘territory’ of s114

10/22 Minister raises concerns over Woking’s £2.4bn debt

09/19 Inter-authority lending appetite remains buoyant despite low PWLB rates

08/19 Four authorities share £624m housing infrastructure boost

06/19 Councils get £142m for housing infrastructure

05/19 Surrey calls a halt to investing outside its borders

04/19 Brexit fears push rates lower, sparking £2bn PWLB borrowing spree

03/19 Low PWLB rates prompt councils to go longer on debt

11/18 Woking rejects plans by its own development company

05/18 Repayment penalties for PWLB loans should be scrapped, demands analyst

11/17 News Roundup: Policies ‘conflict’ over property investment, industrial strategy role, EU structural funds

11/17 Woking buys office complex

09/17 News roundup: PWLB borrowing on the rise, Basildon slams Javid, LGA attempts to kick start devolution