The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has
launched a new inquiry into the spending review and local
Government Finance.
On 21 October, the Treasury announced its intention to carry out
a spending review to set departmental and capital budgets for
2021-22 and provide the financial resources to respond to
Covid-19. The review will include the allocation of resources to
support public services and investment in infrastructure.
In this new inquiry, the Housing, Communities and Local
Government Committee will consider what approach the Government
should take to funding local government as part of the 2020
spending review. It will investigate the current financial health
of local authorities and their ability to deliver services,
including the additional pressures caused by the Covid-19
pandemic. In light of continued delays to the multi-year spending
review, the Committee will also examine the impact of single year
settlements on the ability of councils to plan and deliver
services in the long-terms.
The predecessor Committee carried out an inquiry into local
government finance and the spending review in 2019. More
information about its findings is available here.
Terms of reference
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee wants to
hear your views. It welcomes submissions from anyone with answers
to the questions in the terms of reference. More information
about how to submit evidence is available here.
The Committee invites evidence on the following issues:
- The approach the Government should take to local government
funding as part of the 2020 Spending Review and what the key
features of that settlement should be.
- The current financial situation of councils, how this has
affected their ability to deliver services and the demand for
services, including Adult Social Care.
- What the financial challenges facing councils are as a result
of the COVID-19 pandemic, including lost income and local tax
losses.
- What the impact is of another one-year spending review and a
further delay to a multi-year settlement and the Fair Funding
Review.
