When we asked about a potential ballooning effect due to local authorities continually delaying and deferring payments on borrowing the Department told us the measures being consulted on would ensure that local authorities are paying MRP from revenue rather than other sources, and their MRP covers all their assets.33 We asked whether its measures would deal with past underpayments. The Department responded that it was not planning to “because of the risks in some cases” that correcting these underpayments in one go “may have very serious impacts on the financing of the local authority”, citing the example of Slough.34 Incorrect calculation of MRP was a major contributory factor in Slough’s Section 114 notice and request for exceptional financial support.35 The Department stated that “we have a clear understanding of the local authorities that we think are at risk” and it proposes to “engage intensively with the local authorities that have an underpayment problem historically” to deal with the issue more gradually.36