nd structural reasons, deprivation levels are much higher in the North. One in five people in the North live within one of the 10% most deprived areas in England compared with one in 49 people in London and 1 in 27 people in the South (Grant Thornton UK LLP, 2024). Less familiar is that under the current spending formula, metropolitan boroughs receive the most funding per person while shire counties and districts receive the least. Local authorities have been able, in varying degrees, to offset funding cuts through higher council tax revenues, although central government has imposed caps and limits here. But cuts to central government funding did not take account of differences in the extent to which authorities relied on these two funding streams. As a result, local authorities that are more reliant on funding from central government, typically the more deprived areas less able to raise funds via local taxation, faced greater overall funding cuts. Since 2018, 12 section 114 notices1 have been issued, compared with two issued in the preceding 30 years (Institute for Government, 2024). A 2024 survey found that half of local authorities thought it was likely that they would issue a section 114 notice in the next five years (Local Government Information Unit, 2024). Of the one in five local authorities in England assessed as being at risk of financial failure in 2024, those in the North were twice as likely to be ‘at risk’ compared with those in the South and London (Grant Thornton UK LLP, 2024). Nevertheless, London Councils report the possibility of more London boroughs issuing section 114 notices, with three already reliant on Exceptional Financial Support from the government, and more expected to be in that position in 2025 (London Councils, 2024). Two SP9 survey respo