Government grants 'exceptional' £26.9m support for Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council has been granted £26.9m in 'exceptional' financial support from the government.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Earlier this month the cash-strapped authority revealed that it had applied to the government for what is called a 'capitalisation direction'.
The move allows the Conservative-run council to sell assets, such as buildings, and use the money for revenue costs.
The council has said the money will be used to pay for the 'transformation' of the authority - including paying for redundancies as it cuts its workforce.
The funding takes the form of a loan, which will be paid back by the council.
The authority has faced significant difficulties in its bid to deliver a balanced budget this year - making cuts of around £51.9m, around 20 per cent of its net budget, and with the prospect of bankruptcy looming large.
Speaking to the Shropshire Star earlier this week, the council's chief finance officer James Walton said that the council's solvency for 2024/25 was not dependant on the government approving the capitalisation request.
He said there were a number of measures the council would take to balance its books by March 31 if the funding had not been agreed. Some of those measures could have included temporarily halting some of the authority's services to save money.
