Thirty English councils granted exceptional financial support packages

Local authorities can collectively borrow £1.5bn to plug budget gaps caused by underfundingA record 30 English local authorities have been granted effective “bailouts” enabling them to borrow money to avoid bankruptcy, as ministers advised them against selling off prized local assets such as historic buildings, parks and allotments.The councils, all of whom were experiencing “unmanageable” financial pressures, were given the green light by ministers to collectively