Shropshire MP calls on Government to urgently support council’s fight for financial stability
North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan, has written to the Government calling for urgent support to help Shropshire Council safeguard essential services and avoid issuing a Section 114 Notice.
In her letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed MP, Helen said the council faced a projected overspend of up to £64 million this year, following what she described as “16 years of chaotic Conservative rule”.
Raising the issue in Parliament on Thursday, 13 November, Helen asked the Leader of the House of Commons to press the Secretary of State to meet with Shropshire’s MPs in order to secure the necessary support.
The MP said the situation in Shropshire was “incredibly serious” and blamed failures by successive governments to recognise the higher costs of delivering services in rural areas - an issue repeatedly raised by her with both Conservative and Labour Ministers who have failed to properly support rural councils.
The letter added: “Without short-term help from central government, a Section 114 Notice is inevitable. That would mean drastic cuts and decisions being taken out of local hands. We need urgent funding to stabilise the budget and protect vital services for residents.”
Shropshire Council’s financial challenges have deepened in recent years, with £90 million of cuts made in the last two years alone. The scale of the challenge has been made worse by drastically escalating adult social care costs.
The new Liberal Democrat administration, elected in May, inherited a budget that relied on using all remaining reserves without identifying sufficient savings.
A subsequent ‘deep dive’ review revealed further overspends, driven largely by rising social care costs and savings not being made.
Since taking office, Shropshire’s councillors have implemented emergency measures to halt spending, reduce costs, and increase income, while also developing long-term plans for sustainability. However, Helen warned that these efforts will not be enough without government intervention.
“Councillors were elected to sort out this crisis and they are working tirelessly to do so,” she added. “But they need the Government’s backing to prevent commissioners being parachuted in and to ensure services can continue.”
The MP requested an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State alongside Shropshire’s other MPs to agree a package of exceptional financial support, including funding over the next three years to invest in transformation and to stabilise the council’s finances, to avoid the Notice being issued.
A Section 114 Notice is issued by a local authority when it cannot balance its budget, effectively declaring itself bankrupt. Once issued, all non-essential spending is halted, and government-appointed commissioners can take control of decision-making, which can lead to severe reductions in front line services.
In January the MP wrote to the former Secretary of State, Angela Raynor MP, to express concern over the removal of the Rural Services Delivery Grant, and stressed that the impact of the failure to recognise the cost of delivery in large geographic areas amounted to millions of pounds in lost funding.
