Responding to the 2017 Autumn Budget, , Chairman of the Local
Government Association, said:
“The LGA has long called for councils to be given greater freedom
to borrow to build new homes and today’s Budget has taken a step
towards that by lifting the housing borrowing cap for some
councils. This is an important recognition of our argument about
the vital role that councils must play to boost homes for local
families in need and solve our housing crisis, but does not go
far enough.
“Our national housing shortage is one of the most pressing issues
we face. The last time this country built more than 250,000 homes
a year - in the 1970s - councils built more than 40 per cent of
them. Councils were trusted to get on and build homes that
their communities need, and they delivered.
“If we are to get back to building 300,000 homes a year, then the
Government needs to ensure all areas of the country can borrow to
invest in resuming their role as major builders of affordable
homes.
“It is hugely disappointing that the Budget offered nothing to
ease the financial crisis facing local services. Funding gaps and
rising demand for our adult social care and children’s services
are threatening the vital services which care for our elderly and
disabled, protect children and support families. This is also
having a huge knock-on effect on other services our communities
rely on. Almost 60p in every £1 that people pay in council tax
could have to be spent caring for children and adults by 2020,
leaving increasingly less to fund other services, like fixing
potholes, cleaning streets and running leisure centres and
libraries.
“Adult social care services are essential to keeping people out
of hospital and living independent, dignified lives at home and
in the community and alleviating the pressure on the NHS. Simply
investing more money into the NHS while not addressing the
funding crisis in adult social care is not going to help our
joint efforts to prevent people having to go into hospital in the
first place.
“The money local government has to run services is running out
fast and councils face an overall £5.8 billion funding
gap in just two years. The Government needs to use the
upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement to set out its plan
for how it will fund local services both now and in the future.
We remain clear that local government as a whole must be able to
keep every penny of business rates collected to plug funding gaps
while a fairer system of distributing funding between councils is
needed.
“Only with fairer funding and greater freedom from central
government to take decisions over vital services in their area
can local government generate economic growth, build homes,
strengthen communities, and protect vulnerable people in all
parts of the country.”
