WESTMORLAND and Furness Council has a total debt of nearly £200 million – figures have revealed.

Research from the BBC shows the council has a total amassed debt of £192.3 million, the equivalent of £853 per resident, as of September 2023.

The authority says it has not taken out any new loans since forming on April 1 2023 and the external borrowing was carried out by the previous district councils and Cumbria County Council.

The data reveals across the UK councils owe a combined £97.8bn to lenders, equivalent to £1,141 per resident, with Cumberland Council having a total debt of £254 million.

A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “The council had external borrowing of £192.3m at the end of September 2023. This relates to borrowing that was taken out prior to 1 April 2023 to finance planned capital expenditure.

“The portfolio of loans is the aggregation of the external borrowing from Barrow Borough Council , Eden District Council, South Lakeland District Council, and our proportion of Cumbria County Council upon last year’s disaggregation under Local Government Reorganisation.

“Westmorland and Furness Council has not drawn down any new loans since its inception on 1 April 2023. No new borrowing is expected during the remainder of 2023/24 and after natural loan maturities the external borrowing at 31 March 2024 is forecast to reduce to £186m.

“The use of borrowing as a financing option is subject to consideration of affordability as part of project business cases. Such borrowing is monitored through ‘prudential indicators’ which ensure local authorities are prudent in their activities. The prudential indicators are published in the annual treasury management strategy.”

The Local Government Association (LGA) say councils were ‘encouraged’ by government to make investments.

A spokesperson for the LGA, which represents councils across England and Wales, said: “Councils have faced a choice of either accepting funding reductions and cutting services or making investments to try and protect them. This was an approach that was encouraged by the government.

“While councils have made investment decisions to help them replace funding shortfalls, the majority of council borrowing is focused on investing in projects that contribute to their local economies or help them provide core functions, such as housing and transport schemes.

“When making investments, councils are required to follow strict rules and assessments to ensure they invest wisely and manage the risk of their investments appropriately.

“The government needs to come up with a long-term plan to sufficiently fund local services.”

The government say they have made available a funding package for councils worth over £64 billion for the year ahead, an above inflation increase of 6.5 per cent.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Councils are ultimately responsible for their own finances, but we are very clear they should not put taxpayers’ money at risk by taking on excessive debt.

“The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act provides new powers for central government to step in when councils take excessive risk with borrowing and investment. We have also established the Office for Local Government to further improve accountability across the sector, which will help detect emerging risks and support councils to continue delivering key public services.”