The support given by the Government to keep Bradford from going bankrupt has been “misrepresented” by some, a Cllr has argued.
Cllr Paul Godwin (Lab, Keighley West) said many, including some media outlets and a local MP, had implied that Bradford Council was recently given £127m funding by the Government to balance its books.
In fact the Government is allowing Bradford Council to borrow up to £127m to fix its tattered finances, a loan that needs to be paid back with interest.
The comments were made at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Governance and Audit Committee last week, when members were given an update on the Council’s finances.
Last year the Council were granted “exceptional financial support” by the Government to stave off bankruptcy.
It allows the authority to borrow money to fund its day-to-day services, something Councils are not usually allowed to do.
In the 2025/26 financial year the Council is expected to borrow £127m.
At the meeting Cllr Godwin said: “The way some have reported the current situation is that we’ve been given a substantial sum of money by the Government rather than being given permission to borrow.
“We have not received a large cash grant – and that needs to be explained.
“This has been completely misrepresented by most of the media, and by a local MP.
“We need to communicate better that we haven’t been given any money, just the ability to borrow money.”
He pointed out that this borrowing came with large interest payments.
Chair of the Committee Cllr Angela Tait (Lab, Royds) said: “It is misleading how it has been presented by some. This borrowing will have a big impact on us for future years.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has made clear in stories about the Government’s Exceptional Financial Support that the support is essentially permission to borrow money to fund day to day services and use the money from asset sales to help balance its books.
However, some headlines have described the support as a funding boost or that the Council had secured £127m in funding.
Steven Mair, the Council’s Director of Finance, told members: “The capitalisation direction brings no money to the Council whatsoever.
“We have to pay it back by either borrowing or selling assets.”
He told members that work was underway to bring the amount of borrowing down.
The more the Council made from asset sales would mean the authority would not need to borrow as much to balance its books.
He also said the Council was further reviewing its Capital Programme with a view to cut projects.
Last year the Authority agreed to slash projects including a new solar farm and major refurbishment of City Hall.
