This shows how much of the council's total debt it has covered by dipping into its own spare cash instead of taking out loans. It matters because using your own cash is cheaper than paying interest, but that cash is then not available for emergencies — and eventually real loans may be needed to replace it. A high number means the council is running down its own reserves of cash to avoid borrowing; a low number means its debt is mostly backed by actual loans.
| Council | Class | Value | In its class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gloucester | district | -0.17 | 1st worst of 158 |
| Brentwood | district | -0.16 | 2nd worst of 158 |
| West Devon | district | -0.12 | 3rd worst of 158 |
| Hyndburn | district | -0.05 | 4th worst of 158 |
| Medway Towns | unitary | -0.04 | 1st worst of 63 |
| East Hertfordshire | district | -0.04 | 5th worst of 158 |
| Test Valley | district | -0.03 | 6th worst of 158 |
| Derbyshire Dales | district | -0.01 | 7th worst of 158 |
| Worthing | district | 0 | 8th worst of 158 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | district | 0.01 | 9th worst of 158 |
| Council | Class | Value | In its class |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Hertfordshire | district | 1.56 | 1st best of 158 |
| Broadland | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| Bromley | london | 1 | 1st best of 33 |
| City of London | london | 1 | 1st best of 33 |
| Wychavon | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| Bromsgrove | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| Mid Sussex | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| Horsham | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| Chichester | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | district | 1 | 2nd best of 158 |
| name | internal_borrowing_gap |
|---|---|
| dataset | 02-capital-outturn-debt |
| kind | constructed |
| type | numeric |
| unit | ratio |
| grain | council-year |
| role | feature |
| source | (cfr_end − gross_borrowing_end) / cfr_end — PRU1_prucfrend_amt and PRU2T1_prubrwgrs_end (both this dataset) |
| period | 2018-19 to 2024-25 |
| missingness | unknown |
| score_note | Unique refinancing-risk angle, but internal borrowing is hard to explain simply. |
| calculated | ../calculated/internal-borrowing-gap.csv |
| calculated_rows | 2305 |
| calculated_periods | 2018-19 to 2024-25 |
| calculated_date | 2026-08-13 |
| peer_group | districts (n=194), unitaries (n=65), metropolitan boroughs (n=36), London boroughs (n=33), counties (n=27) — scored within each class against its median/IQR |
The share of the council's borrowing need met internally from its own cash balances rather than external loans. Internal borrowing is cheap in the short run, but a large gap that must eventually be externalized at current interest rates is a refinancing risk. Read together with investments_end, which shows the balances being drawn on.