Ministers hope £64bn package will stave off more local council bankruptcies

Birmingham’s Council House. Birmingham, Woking and Nottingham have all issued section 114 notices this year, bringing the number of councils that have gone bankrupt since 2018 to nine. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Ministers will announce a 6.5% increase in the funding for local councils in England in a desperate attempt to stop them going bankrupt.

Michael Gove, the communities secretary, will announce the £64bn support package on Monday, less than a fortnight after he was warned that an unprecedented number of councils are likely to declare themselves bankrupt.