in 2018 northamptonshire county council become insolvent and proposed reducing services to the minimum required by law. austerity measures were blamed for the insolvency, as was the council's refusal to raise council tax despite the rising costs of providing social services. at the time the national audit office said that up to 15 other local authorities were also at risk of insolvency. a survey of council leaders, chief executives and mayors conducted by the new local government network indicated that more than 70% of respondents expected that they would be unable to provide non-statutory services beyond 2023 if funding remained as restricted as it had been since 2010. in early 2019, three quarters of councils said they would have to raise taxes close to the legal maximum in order to cover costs, though many would nevertheless be cutting services.