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Birmingham City Council has become the latest to experience financial dire straits after racking up millions in debt.

The local authority has been forced to issue a section 114 notice as it struggles to repay £760m in equal pay claims.

This means it has 21 days to come up with a plan to balance the books and must freeze all spending apart from statutory spending and on services to protect the vulnerable.

In extreme cases councils can be taken over by central government until their financial issues are resolved.

Here Sky News looks at other authorities that have experienced serious financial trouble in recent years - and why.

Hackney (2000)

Although austerity has been the main driver of councils going bust over the past decade, financial issues in Hackney, east London far pre-date that.

In 2000, the Labour-run administration declared it didn't have the funds to meet its spending commitments.

A subsequent report found there had been "widespread mismanagement" and "inadequate accounting".

Managers were accused of hiding the true costs of services from councillors, with one £5m rubbish collection contract ultimately costing double that amount.

The council agreed it would try to save £4.5m in a year and £18m the next.

Meanwhile a nursery closed because there was no money to fix a leak in the roof, parks and gardening vehicles ran out of fuel, and one council tenant had a new bath fitted - but there was told there wasn't enough money for any taps.

Northamptonshire (2018)

Northamptonshire County Council was the first to declare bankruptcy in over two decades.

The Conservative-run authority had long prided itself on leading the way in privatisation, low-council tax and resident value for money.

But failing to take into account a growing population, its high-risk strategies of outsourcing social care services and selling off public buildings backfired.

It was left with shortfalls of £70m - just after it spent £53m on a new building for its headquarters.

Following the section 114 notice, major job and service cuts were announced.

Ultimately in 2021, the county council and seven districts underneath it were dissolved and reorganised into two unitary authorities - North and West Northamptonshire.

Slough (2021)

Labour-run Slough Borough Council declared bankruptcy in July 2021 after discovering a £100m gap in its finances.

But subsequent auditing by Grant Thornton found it had in fact run up £760m in debt.

A report by its newly appointed chief financial officer Steven Mair concluded that years of poor leadership and quality control were behind the shortfalls.

Government commissioners were brought in to run day-to-day operations in December.

Slough promised to raise council tax and sell off £600m in a bid to balance its books.

Thurrock (2022)

Thurrock, on the Thames Estuary in Essex, filed a section 114 in December 2022 after declaring a £469m black hole in is finances.

Concerns had been raised as far back as 2018 over the Conservative-run authority's alleged "extreme" appetite for financial risk.

The council's former finance director Sean Clark was blamed for running up most of the losses, having borrowed from other local authorities to pay for riAG百家乐在线官网 commercial investments in things like solar farms.

A review found he was able to make high-risk decisions with almost zero oversight - and had attempted to silence many of his critics.

The council's investment policy was paused in September 2020 before government commissioners were brought in two years later to monitor spending.

It was put into special measures and had to ask central government for a £636m bailout after debts reached £1.5bn.

Croydon (2022)

The south London borough went bust under the Conservatives in November 2022 - but first declared bankruptcy just two years earlier while still under Labour.

Its first section 114 notice came after riAG百家乐在线官网 property investments and overspends on social care, which ultimately led to a £120m government bailout.

Questions had been raised in 2013 over the decision to spend more per square foot than the Shard on a new headquarters.

The £144m council building went alongside the £53m retail park it bought in 2018 - which failed to bring in a promised annual income of £1.4m.

Read more:
Councils spending more on debt than services
How much did your council tax go up by?
Why do councils have to pay for bins and street lights?

In a bid to address its £1.6bn debt, the council said it could raise around £100m by selling off 18 properties, including libraries and youth centres.

An independent review by the Local Government Association in February 2023 blamed "organisational dysfunction" for Croydon's financial woes.

Woking (2023)

Before Birmingham, Woking Borough Council in Surrey was the latest to declare bankruptcy.

Then-local government minister Lee Rowley described it as the "most indebted council" of its size in England after estimates suggested its £1.9bn debt would increase to £2.5bn in 2024/25.

The Liberal Democrats took Woking from the Conservatives at this year's local elections.

Most debts were racked up under the previous administration and have been blamed on various questionable investments - including a 23-story Hilton hotel.

Government commissioners were brought in after a section 114 notice in May.

A report has since blamed the financial collapse on "sub-optimal record keeping" among other things.

:: This article has been updated to remove a section about Northumberland County Council, after reviewing the information.