Gloucester City Council funding update

I am delighted to share the news that after a period of intense work (and to be honest some sleepless nights) the emergency funding support for Gloucester City Council has been secured.

In basic terms this means that between now and 2027, the council will receive £15.5million in emergency funding from the government.

I am relieved that this bailout has been secured and that commissioners will not be called in to run the city, as the people of Gloucester deserve better. I will be meeting with Ministers again soon to continue to make the case for our city.

However I remain seriously concerned about what lessons will be learned by the council. Ministers have raised issues with me around governance, lack of audited accounts and poor commercial investments and decision-making over recent years. This cannot go on.

I hope that the City Council will take this opportunity to reflect on what has gone wrong and put in place serious plans to put things right. For my part I will continue to work day in and day out to secure the best outcomes possible for the people of our city