What is a section 114 notice, and is my council bankrupt?
A section 114 notice is a report by a council's chief finance officer under section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. It must be issued if spending is likely to exceed the resources available, or if the council plans unlawful spending. Councillors must meet to consider it within 21 days, and until then the council may not enter new spending commitments without the chief finance officer's authorisation.
Councils cannot be declared bankrupt in the way a company or person can, and "bankrupt" is not an official term. Councils publish their own notices; there is no official national list. MHCLG publishes which councils have received Exceptional Financial Support, usually permission to fund day-to-day costs by borrowing or selling assets.
Exceptional Financial Support is not the same as a section 114 notice: many councils receive it without issuing one.
When is the next figure out?
MHCLG publishes at 9:30am on dates pre-announced on the GOV.UK statistics calendar. Council tax levels for the coming year appear in March, revenue budgets in June, capital outturn and revenue outturn later in the year, and the provisional finance settlement usually in December with the final settlement in February. Live tables on borrowing and capital payments are updated each quarter.
Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.
Where the figures come from
- Local government finance statistics (MHCLG, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)Where to find official council spending, council tax, finance settlement, debt and audit data for England, plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Related questions
This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about councils and local government: all Councils and local government questions.