More English councils expected to fail owing billions, warns Moody’s

Rating agency report amid local government crisis lists 20 most indebted authorities relative to size

More English councils are expected to fail owing billions of pounds in debts, a leading credit rating agency has warned, amid an escalating crisis for local government after years of budget cuts and mismanagement.

In a report in the wake of the financial meltdown at Birmingham city council, Moody's said several other local authorities across the country were close to issuing pre-insolvency warnings and listed the 20 most indebted in England relative to size.