Guidance

Exceptional Financial Support for local authorities for 2024-25

Details of support granted to local authorities that have requested Exceptional Financial Support in financial year 2024-25 and the associated external assurance reviews.

Applies to England

In the financial year 2024-25 the previous government agreed to provide 19 councils with support to manage financial pressures via the Exceptional Financial Support process. For 11 councils this included agreement to support for prior years.

Councils were provided with in-principle capitalisation support in February 2024 ahead of their budget setting. This page will be updated with final amounts of capitalisation agreed and capitalisation directions issued once confirmed.

For some councils the support requested and agreed covers prior years. Any subsequent changes to figures are detailed below the original in-principle amount.

Local authority Exceptional Financial Support requests from local authorities: 2024-25
Birmingham £685.0m (support agreed in-principle)

This was subsequently revised to:
£490.0m (support agreed in-principle for 2024-25)

£570.1m agreed in-principle covering:
2020-21: £288.4m
2021-22: £109.5m
2022-23: £172.2m
Bradford £140.0m (support agreed in-principle)
£80.0m for 2023-24
Cheshire East £6.0m (support agreed in-principle)

This was subsequently revised to:
£17.6m (support agreed in-principle for 2024-25)

£11.6m agreed in-principle for 2023-24
Croydon £38.0m (support agreed in-principle)

This was subsequently revised to:
£51.0m (support agreed in-principle for 2024-25)

£9.4m agreed in-principle for 2019-20
Cumberland £41.23m (support agreed in-principle)
Eastbourne £3.0m (support agreed in-principle)
£3.0m agreed in-principle for 2023-24
Havering £32.5m (support agreed in-principle)
£18.14m for 2023-24
Medway £14.742m (support agreed in-principle)

This was subsequently revised to:
£23.171m (support agreed in-principle for 2024-25)
Middlesbrough £13.4m (support agreed in-principle)
North Northamptonshire £3.9m (support agreed in-principle)
Nottingham £41.143m (support agreed in-principle)
£25.0m agreed in-principle for 2023-24
Plymouth £72.0m (support agreed in-principle for a historic accounting correction in 2019-20)
Slough £23.078m (support agreed in-principle)
Somerset £76.9m (support agreed in-principle)
Southampton £121.58m (support agreed in-principle)
Stoke-on-Trent £21.7m (support agreed in-principle)
£20.5m for 2023-24
Thurrock £68.6m (support agreed in-principle)

This was subsequently revised to:
£96.0m (support agreed in-principle for 2024-25)
West Northamptonshire £6.6m (support agreed in-principle)
Woking £95.6m (support agreed in-principle)

This was subsequently reprofiled to:
£93.6m (support agreed in-principle for 2024-25)

£235.1m agreed in-principle for 2023-24

Capitalisation directions

Lambeth Council capitalisation direction 2023-24 and 2024-25 (PDF, 296 KB, 2 pages)

Croydon capitalisation direction 2019-20 (PDF, 261 KB, 2 pages)

Bradford capitalisation direction 2023-24 (PDF, 170 KB, 2 pages)

Stoke-on-Trent capitalisation direction 2023-24 (PDF, 170 KB, 2 pages)

Havering capitalisation direction 2023-24 (PDF, 170 KB, 2 pages)

Assurance reviews

CIPFA local government finance review: Bradford

CIPFA local government finance review: Cheshire East

CIPFA local government finance review: Cumberland

CIPFA local government finance review: Eastbourne

CIPFA local government finance review: Havering

CIPFA local government finance review: Medway

CIPFA local government finance review: Middlesborough

CIPFA local government finance review: Plymouth

CIPFA local government finance review: Somerset

CIPFA local government finance review: Southampton

CIPFA local government finance review: Stoke-on-Trent

CIPFA local government finance review: West Northamptonshire

Interventions in local authorities

Statutory intervention: Birmingham City Council

Statutory intervention: London Borough of Croydon  

Statutory intervention: Nottingham City Council 

Statutory intervention: Slough Borough Council 

Statutory intervention: Thurrock Council 

Statutory intervention: Woking Borough Council 

Updates to this page

Published 29 February 2024
Last updated 20 March 2025 show all updates
  1. Added CIPFA local government finance review: Plymouth.

  2. Added directions for Croydon 2019-20 and Bradford, Stoke, Havering 2023-24 (also reflected in table). Added external assurance reviews for Bradford, Cheshire East, Cumberland, Eastbourne, Havering, Medway, Middlesbrough, Somerset, Southampton, Stoke and West Northamptonshire.

  3. First published.

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