https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-54341769Nine in 10 major local authorities in England do not have enough money to cover their spending plans this year, official documents have shown.
Analysis by BBC News has found the coronavirus could see councils this year overspend their budgets by £1.7bn.
The Local Government Association (LGA) warned authorities faced "spiralling demands" on their finances.
The government said councils had received £4.8bn in emergency support since the start of the pandemic.
Since March local authorities across the country have provided emergency pandemic support to some of the most vulnerable people in society.
But the cost of providing this support has left many councils struggling financially.
How many councils are struggling?
BBC News has analysed the most recent financial monitoring documents published by 144 out of 149 unitary and county councils in England.
After taking account of emergency grant funding from central government, the documents revealed nine in every 10 of these councils was forecasting they would overspend their budget this year.
The forecasts were largely calculated on the basis of the authorities' spending in the first quarter of the 2020-21 financial year.
By law councils are not
allowed to spend more money than they have in their day-to-day spending budget nor can they borrow money to fund public services.
The documents show that Hampshire County Council has a net budget gap of more than £80m. Council officers warned the authority needed "at least £52.4m of additional government support" before it could be considered to be "financially sustainable in the medium term".
Leeds City Council forecast it needed to find £52.6m by March, saying more than 400 jobs could be lost as a result.