Government approval for Sefton Council's exceptional budget plan
Plus Patrick Hurley MP writes about why he is optimistic for the town's 2026
Hello and welcome to the midweek edition of The Southport Lead.
On Sunday, we brought you the news that Sefton Council had requested special permission to sell off land and property as part of its 2026/27 budget - today’s edition revisits that issue following a response from the local government minister Alison McGovern.
On top of that, we also have an editorial from Southport MP Patrick Hurley as he takes hope from the positive start seen to Southport’s cultural calendar this month. Given some of the discussion around higher education funding, his comments on the important of the arts and creative industries are particularly timely.
Southport briefing
🚓 A second man has been charged in connection with an assault and kidnap in Southport. On Sunday, February 15, two people forced their way into a property on Ash Street and assaulted the occupant, leaving him with injuries described by police as “non-life threatening”. A woman was reported to have been taken from the address and was later found safe and well in Skelmersdale. Last week, 34-year-old Lee Jevons was charged with kidnap and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and Merseyside Police now says that 54-year-old Trevor Jevons, of no fixed address, has been charged with the same offences.
♻️ Weekly food waste collections will begin across Sefton later this year and a call has gone out for help naming the council’s new fleet of waste collection trucks. Under government rules, councils in England must provide weekly food waste collections from April, though Sefton is among those granted a later starting date and will instead begin in the autumn. This week, the council issued a plea for creative, family-friendly names for its new fleet - with suggestions including , Kate Binslet, Peels on Wheels and Ada Lovewaste - and is offering the winners al photo opportunity with their named truck. The council said: “Sefton Council is calling on local school pupils and residents to help it name a brand-new fleet of food waste collection vehicles. These shiny new trucks will hit the road when weekly food waste collections begin across Sefton in Autumn 2026. And they want each one to have its own unique name and personality.” You can enter here.
Government approves exceptional financial support for Sefton Council to pass balanced budget
By Jamie Lopez
The government has approved Sefton Council’s request for special allowances to enable it to set balanced 2026/27 budget.
Sefton is one of 37 local authorities to be granted exceptional financial support which does not include extra funding from central government.
Instead, it gives the council permission to factor in proposed asset sales into its budget - something which would not ordinarily be allowed.
Local authorities are legally required to set a balanced budget and, as The Southport Lead reported on Sunday, the council says it needs to sell of £12m worth of assets in order to achieve this against a huge social care bill, rising costs, and a need to rebuild depleted reserves.
Among the properties which are currently earmarked to be sold off this year are lodges at the cemeteries in Southport and Ainsdale as well as the former public toilets on Lord Street West.
On Monday (23 February), the government agreed requests from Sefton and dozens of other councils and, while announcing this, local government minister Alison McGovern attacked the austerity-era funding cuts which devastated local councils and led to tax rises and cut services.
Among the others to receive support, Warrington and Trafford have been allowed to raise council tax by 7.5%, well above the rate normally allowed without a referendum. In addition, Warrington has also been granted £92m of exceptional financial support following on from £87.5m in 2025/26.
Tomorrow sees a full council meeting in which the budget will be discussed and councillors given their chance to have a say on the proposals. Opposition group leader Cllr John Pugh this week questioned the lack of detail to councillors, raising the example of an increase in the amount spent of Highways staffing.
Cllr. Pugh said: “There has been a sharp and dramatic deterioration on many key roads. These roads and the public patience are wearing thin, but the answer to every council stress cannot be an automatic ’we need more staff’ and even if, at times, that is the right answer there ought to be a closely scrutinised case presented to councillors in advance”.
Elsewhere, the cost of council services will rise broadly in line with inflation and one change which will be felt by residents in an increase to parking costs. In Southport town centre, the cheapest fare for on-street parking will now be £1.
Announcing the agreements with the 37 councils, McGovern said: “We have been clear we will continue to support councils in the most difficult positions and I have today agreed in principle Exceptional Financial Support for councils where I have been assured that there is a need in 2026-27 or in relation to previous years. In some cases, these agreements reflect a reprofiling of existing support.
“Under the previous government, increasing numbers of councils seeking Exceptional Financial Support became an accepted part of the finance system. This should clearly not be the case, and I am determined that we begin to break this cycle as part of our reforms to the system – but we cannot undo 14 years of damage overnight.”
She continued: “Our reforms have allowed some councils to move away from a long-term reliance on government support. The total figure is significantly lower than some of the extreme numbers speculated in the media.
The in-principle support agreed today is necessary to enable councils to get on with their budget processes, protecting services for residents in the context of the deep fragility left by the previous government. But I am clear that this sort of flexibility is designed to be temporary […] And we will continue to reduce pressure on councils in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support by removing the pay-day loan premium imposed by the previous government, which made it more expensive for such councils to borrow to get out of crisis situations.”
“The arts and creative industries are not an afterthought; they are central to the future of towns like ours”
By Patrick Hurley, MP for Southport
February felt like a real turning point for Southport.
The month marked the beginning of Southport’s long-awaited year of culture, and it began in exactly the right way, with our landmarks across Lord Street lit up in technicolour, with a rainbow shining across the street.
The Elegantly Eccentric, Southport 2026 programme, delivered through partnership between local, regional and national government, is about so much more than just the events. What we’re trying to do is also increase footfall, back our local economy, and restore pride in our town centre.
And what a start we had.
