Bradford Council given £127m 'exceptional' support

Bradford Council has been allowed to relax funding rules by the government to help it raise £127.1m in an effort to ease its financial crisis.

The council is one of 30 local authorities across England to have been given "exceptional" financial support by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

The city has been on the financial brink for the past two years and narrowly staved off bankruptcy last March following an emergency package from government.

Under the terms of the new cash settlement, the authority will be unable to sell off any of its community and heritage assets.

Bradford Council will be able to borrow money or sell assets in order to raise the extra money through the exceptional financial support process.

In November, Bradford Council signed off £40m worth of savings in an attempt to balance its books, with cuts to its street cleaning budget and a reduction in library hours among the measures it took.

Three of the district's recycling centres were also permanently closed last April to save money.

Last month, the council finalised plans to raise council tax bills by almost 10%.

The authority needs to save £40m next year and a further £50m per year for the following four years.

The government said the councils being given the money were in need of "immediate help".

The MHCLG said officials would "work with councils on improvement and actions they can take to help manage their position to ensure value for taxpayer money".

Minister Jim McMahon said: "We are under no illusion of the state of council finances and have been clear from the outset on our commitment to get councils back on their feet and rebuild the foundation of local government."

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