Financial turbulence is as damaging to local government as it is to businesses, and rising costs and inflation are eating away at both council and household budgets.
While I am pleased that November’s Autumn Statement provided some relief for councils and the vital services they provide – such as social care, planning, leisure centres, waste and recycling collection – we continue to face an uncertain future.
The Chancellor gave us additional council tax raising powers, more money for social care and schools, a higher cap on social housing rents, and set out spending plans for the next two years.
But to tackle local challenges and to drive local growth and levelling up, we need a sustainable and long-term financial settlement. We also need devolution.
So, it was positive to see the Chancellor recommit to the Government’s levelling up and devolution agenda, with announcements on a second round of the Levelling Up Fund and several new devolution deals.
These deals will give greater powers, freedoms and funding to those local communities. Devolution now needs to be extended further, faster and to more places, so every area of England can secure the deal that works for them and their residents by the end of decade.
These deals must be based on a transfer of power to areas from Whitehall. It is also important that councils of all sizes are engaged in the devolution process.
It is also very welcome that the Government is exploring a single department-type settlement to areas with ‘trailblazer’ deals.
Devolution offers the best value for money and is the right response to fiscal constraints. Given the tools and resources to tailor spending to local needs and opportunities, councils will deliver better outcomes than a centralised system characterised by funding silos and local duplication of effort.
The LGA has long called for an end to the fragmentation of government funding, and to bring budgets together in a place. This policy could benefit all local places.
