Half of Councils at Risk of Financial Failure within Five Years

One in six councils are not expected to deliver services within budget this year, and more than half of all councils are at risk of financial failure within the next five years, a report from  the National Audit Office says. As the government pushes ahead with funding cuts of more than a third in local government many single-tier and county councils feared for core services including education and social care. The NAO also said the CLG had no way of monitoring the financial sustainability of councils. In keeping with past reports, it found that the councils hardest hit were those most dependent on government grants. Read more on the NAO website.