LGA - Response to LGIU/MJ local government finance survey
14 Feb 2019 09:32 AM
Cllr Richard Watts, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Resources Board, responded to the LGiU/MJ survey into local government finance
“Between 2010 and 2020, councils will have lost almost 60p out of every £1 the Government had provided for services. This survey illustrates the severity of the challenge facing councils with government grant funding at the lowest it has been for decades at the same time as demand for services, such as adult social care, children’s services and homelessness support, has grown.
“Faced with a government funding settlement that assumes maximum council tax rises and these funding pressures, many councils feel they have little choice but to ask residents to pay more council tax again this year to help them try and protect their local services. With councils facing a funding gap of more than £3 billion this year, council tax rises will not prevent the need for continued cutbacks to local services.
“The Spending Review will be make or break for vital local services and securing the financial sustainability of councils must be the top priority. If we truly value our local services then we have to be prepared to pay for them. Fully funding councils is the only way they will be able to keep providing the services which matter to people’s lives.”