ST Helens Council has defended its level of borrowing amid debt totalling more than £137.5 million.

BBC Shared Data Unit analysis of data by the Department for Levelling Up shows UK councils owe a combined £97.8 billion to lenders, equivalent to £1,455 per resident, as of September 2023.

Taking into account all types of local authorities, such as police and crime commissioners and combined authorities, the debt pile rises to £122 billion.

'Years of under-funding'

But council leaders say years of under-funding mean they have been forced to take out loans and invest in commercial properties just to keep services running.

The data shows that Labour-run St Helens Council’s amassed debt for 2023-24, at quarter two, totalled £137,518,000.

It states St Helens has a population of 183,391 – and the debt per person in the town totals £750.

According to the data, Woking had the largest average debt per resident in the UK, £18,756, followed by Spelthorne, £10,415, Warrington, £8,236, and Thurrock, £8,049.

'Capital investment - the council's response' 

A St Helens Council spokesperson said: “Councils use borrowing as a key part of its ability to invest in major projects through capital investment as revenue, the day-to-day spending, cannot be spent on things like infrastructure and development schemes.

“Every local authority has a level of debt from borrowing as part of its financial make up.

“OFLOG, the new local government regulator, reviews council’s financial standings by looking at the level of debt as a percentage of core spending power and St Helens Borough Council’s figure is 4.8 per cent compared to the England median of 9 per cent.

“This shows our levels of borrowing has been far more carefully sustained which means we are in a stable financial condition and effectively not borrowing beyond our means.

“But we have and will continue to focus our borrowing on projects that invest directly in transforming our borough.

“Without this we would not be able to deliver projects which will have once-in-a-generation positive impact on our borough like town centre regenerations and major developments like Parkside.

“Our council follows the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management, which does include the use of prudential borrowing.”