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Councils with the biggest gap between spending and funding
Total budget gap across English councils
£16.0bn
Across the 317 councils that publish a gap figure. 270 have a gap of 10% or more of their net budget (27 more are between 5% and 10%).
Ranked by the size of the budget gap, in pounds.
How we got this: we take the gap in pounds straight from each council’s published budget or Medium Term Financial Strategy. Some councils publish a one-year gap; others publish the total they expect over 3 to 5 years. So this is a rough guide to financial pressure, not an exact like-for-like comparison.
A budget gap is the difference between what a council plans to spend and the funding it has lined up. Councils close the gap by saving money, cutting services or using reserves. If they cannot, they issue a Section 114 notice — which works in practice like declaring bankruptcy.
This card ranks councils by the size of their budget gap in pounds. Some councils publish their gap for one year. Others publish the total gap they expect over the next 3 to 5 years (their Medium Term Financial Strategy). Both are shown here. A bigger number means more financial work to do — not that the council is about to fail.
Under Section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, a council's finance officer must issue a notice when the council cannot balance its budget. New spending is frozen until a recovery plan is agreed.
No. Most councils close their gap each year by saving money, cutting services or using reserves. A big gap is a sign of pressure, not a sign that the council is about to fail.
Each council publishes its budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy. We take the budget gap straight from those documents.