Today, the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU)
launches the final report of the Local Finance Taskforce and
calls on the next Prime Minister to address local government
funding in his first 100 days in office.
The final report, a roadmap for the future sustainability
of local finance, sets out a plan (and timeline) for developing a
fair and sustainable funding system that includes: a commitment
to a one year emergency local government finance settlement; a
national strategy for health and social care funding and the
removal of the council tax referendum requirement.
In the report, the Taskforce challenges the next Prime
Minister to set out a plan for local government finance that
considers the following: quantum, uncertainty and risk, adult
social care, business rates, council tax, other sources of
funding and local government’s place within the wider public
sector. A full copy of the recommendations is attached.
The Taskforce, launched in February 2018, consulted 245
senior figures within local government on the future of local
government funding. The final report brings together this
evidence and recommends a local government-led path to a
sustainable financial future. The roadmap follows on from
the Local Finance
Scorecard (launched July 2018) to kickstart a
wider debate on the big ideas for local government
finance and funding post 2020.
Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive of LGiU,
said: “The next
Prime Minister will have 100 days to save local government when
he is elected on 23 July.
At the moment, councils have no idea how they will be
funded this time next year. They face a financial cliff edge on
31st March 2020 and currently have no ability to budget or plan
their services for the year ahead. Some may soon be forced
to take very difficult decisions, based on their worst-case
scenario budget estimates – making redundancies, stripping down
services, selling valued public assets – that may turn out to be
completely unnecessary. Under normal circumstances, this would be
a recipe for disaster but under the current Government it appears
to be another issue caught up in the Brexit fog.
Our Local Finance Taskforce sets out a roadmap for the
future that is sustainable. In it, we
demand from Government a local government funding system that is
fair, transparent and provides certainty and a settlement that is
clear about the role and value of councils, and their
relationship with the wider public sector and society. Local
government deserves better and local government deserves
more.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Local Finance Taskforce launched in February 2018 with
support from LGiU members. Over the past year and a half, the
Taskforce consulted 245 senior figures within local government on
the future of local government funding. The final report brings
together this evidence and recommends a local government-led path
to a sustainable financial future. Further detail on the
Taskforce’s work is available here. An
embargoed copy of the report is available upon request.
In February 2019, as part of the LGiU’s Annual State
of Local Government Finance report, the LGiU
released the results of annual survey of Chief Executives,
Leaders, Cabinet Members for Finance and Chief Finance Officers.
Key results included:
Eight in ten (80%) councils said they were not confident in
the sustainability of local government finance; none said they
were ‘very confident’.
Almost one in ten (9%) councils were anticipating legal
challenges this year due to reductions in service provision and
over half (53%) of councils said that the current financial
situation in local government is negatively affecting their
relationship with citizens.
Children’s Services and Education was the top immediate
financial pressure for the second year running (36% of councils),
ahead of Adult Social Care (23%) which has historically ranked
highest. However, Adult Social Care was still under severe
strain, being named as the top long term financial pressure (37%
of councils).
Councils said they would be forced to cut many community
services this year, with reduced activity expected across
libraries (32% of councils), arts and culture (46%), parks and
leisure (45%), waste collection (22%), recycling (11%) and roads
(38%).
Further detail available here.
