Shropshire Council’s ‘dire’ financial situation has been raised in the House of Commons by MP Helen Morgan.

Mrs Morgan raised her concerns in the House of Commons over the council’s current financial situation with reports of ‘bankruptcy’ for the unitary authority.

The MP, who was elected to North Shropshire in December 2021, says the council has a savings target of £1 million every week and employs £4,000-a-day consultants hired to undertake a ‘transformation’ programme of cuts.

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The local authority has faced harsh criticism from Liberal Democrat councillors over ‘mismanagement’ of the county finances through purchases like the shopping centres in Shrewsbury.

She raised this in the Commons, and called on Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, to back a fairer funding model for rural councils which recognises the higher costs of running services in the countryside.

“Shropshire Council is in a dire financial state, with bankruptcy looming,” she said.

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“There are serious questions to be answered from the cabinet and county leadership about how we have ended up in such a weak position, with so little left in our reserves and so many examples of wasteful spending.

“I called on the Secretary of State to take funding for rural councils seriously and recognise that providing services in the countryside can create added costs and difficulties.

“Just as poor council decisions have contributed to the precarious position we are in, poor government funding holds back rural counties like ours.”