75p in every £1 of council funding cut by 2020

The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that local government will have lost 75p out of every £1 of core central government funding that it had to spend in 2015.

This means that 168 councils will no longer receive any of this core central government funding by 2019/20. This covers bin collection, road maintenance, children’s services, as well as elderly and social care.

The LGA said the need for adequate funding for local government is urgent, and is calling for local government to be allowed to keep all of the £26 billion in business rates it collects locally each year, as well as a fairer system of distributing funding between councils.

Launching a new report, Growing Places, the LGA also urges for council tax referendum limits to be abolished and for councils and their residents to decide how local services are paid for.

Lord Porter, Chairman of the LGA, told the LGA’s Annual Conference in Birmingham: “Councils can no longer be expected to run our vital local services on a shoestring. We must shout from the roof tops for local government to be put back on a sustainable financial footing. Every penny in local taxation collected locally must be kept by local government and spent on our public services. The cap on council tax also needs to be lifted to ensure new money can be raised locally and spent locally.

“Local government is the fabric of our country, even more so during this period of uncertainty for the nation. Councils are the ones who can be trusted to make a difference to people’s lives. To build desperately-needed homes, create jobs and school places, provide the dignified care for our elderly and disabled and boost economic growth. If austerity is coming to an end, then we need to make sure councils are at the front of the queue for more money. Only with adequate funding and the right powers can councils help the government tackle the challenges facing our nation now and in the future.”