Northamptonshire unitaries reach agreement over final balance sheet from defunct county council

The two unitary councils that cover Northamptonshire have resolved a four years long dispute over how to divide up their financial inheritance from predecessor councils. Each will receive some £20m.

Details: 14.Aug.2024

Northamptonshire County Council voted to reorganise the county into two unitaries after it in 2018 issued a section 114 notice declaring effective bankruptcy and the Government sent in inspector Max Caller, who recommended Northamptonshire’s abolition.

This meant that the former districts of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough were folded into the North Northamptonshire unitary and Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire into West Northamptonshire with the county council’s assets and responsibilities divided between them.

But it has not until now been decided how the old county’s capital financing requirement and capital adjustment account would be divided.

A joint statement said negotiations had been guided by seeking to “ensure that this did not cause any financial distress to either party and this will allow both councils to begin finalising their accounts”.

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Jason Smithers, leader of North Northamptonshire, said: “Coming to a position of mutual agreement on the final balance sheet for the former county council was a complex task and I’m delighted that we can now move forward from this significant milestone in our unitary journey.”

Adam Brown, leader of West Northamptonshire, added: “This was no simple task and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who worked so closely and constructively to bring this to a satisfactory resolution for both councils."

The councils said old district balance sheets could simply be passed to their successors, but for the county these had to be disaggregated.

High-level principles for splitting the old county’s balance sheet were agreed by shadow authorities before both successors came into being in 2021, but “there were a number of balances which were technically more difficult to allocate".

Gaps in the evidence and a lack of detailed historic working papers had been found, which had delayed the development of complete picture of the situation.

Mark Smulian