Title

FINANCE

Councils call for £5bn 'income guarantee'

England's largest councils are calling on the Government to provide a £5bn 'income guarantee to avoid them having to declare insolvency during the coronavirus pandemic.

The County Councils' Network (CCN) is calling on the Government to provide a £5bn 'income guarantee' to avoid financial collapse during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Under the plan, the councils would get a guaranteed income from council tax, business rates and income from fees and charges. 

The plan extents proposals from Society of County Treasurers' president Gary Fielding for the Governemnt to underwrite council tax and business rates, as mooted in The MJ last week. 

CCN has wared some councils are facing Section 114 notices due to plunging income and increasing cost pressures. 

The councils represented by CCN estimate they will lose £430m from fees, charges and other income, with non-payment of council tax and business rates reaching £2.4bn.

It is calling on the Government to compensate councils for their lost income in addition to providing emergency funding for additional costs.

Cllr David Williams, chairman of the CCN, said: 'The government has given comprehensive protection to the health service and businesses and we want to work with government to deliver the same for councils. However welcome one-off injections of resources have been, councils cannot budget on verbal reassurances alone and therefore now is the time for the government to step forward with firmer financial guarantees to stem fears that councils will have to declare insolvency.

'By setting out an initial guarantee of £5bn, this will provide councils with the confidence and means that they need to spend what is required to defeat the spread of the virus, save lives and support private enterprise to drive the economic recovery.'

FINANCE

Reorganisation could break care services unless government gets reform right

By Cllr Matthew Hicks | 10 October 2025

New analysis raises serious concerns for the future sustainability, quality and cost of people-based services if excessive fragmentation into smaller council...

FINANCE

CCN: Social care faces 'triple whammy' from reorganisation

By William Eichler | 10 October 2025

Plans to split large councils into smaller unitary authorities could hit vulnerable people with a ‘triple whammy’ of worse services, higher costs and staff s...

FINANCE

DCN call for housing fund expansion

By Joe Lepper | 09 October 2025

A housing fund blighted by poor uptake among local authorities needs to be expanded, according to the District Councils’ Network (DCN).

FINANCE

DCN is 'punching above its weight'

By Martin Ford | 08 October 2025

As Sam Chapman-Allen’s tenure as chair of the District Councils’ Network (DCN) comes to an end, he talks to Martin Ford about his time in the hotseat

Popular articles by Laura Sharman