'Time bomb' Education overspend could bankrupt the city council

BRISTOL City Council faces a "ticking time bomb" and could go bust within 10 months if the Government does not extend a deadline for it to plug a black hole in the schools budget, it is feared.

- Adam POSTANS

A huge deficit has built up, mostly because the council has had to spend more money than planned supporting youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The Government has given the council special permission to carry it over each year, called a "statutory override", but this expires at the end of March 2026, with no indication that it will be extended again or that the required funding for many local authorities in similar situations, totalling billions of pounds, will be provided by Whitehall.

That means Bristol City Council could face having to find a forecast £63million to pay it off, on top of any other cuts to set a balanced budget. Cllr Jonathan Hucker, a qualified accountant, said this raised the prospect of the organisation effectively having to declare bankruptcy.