An outdated funding model has pushed councils into a financial crisis and requires fundamental reform – not simply increasing the reliance on a regressive council tax system – a group of MPs has said.
The soaring cost of living combined with a decade of austerity could see up to a sixth of English councils fully deplete their reserves in 2023-24 without substantial spending cuts, experts have...
The government’s choice to not go ahead with a Spending Review this year means departments will need to make difficult decisions on services as inflation erodes their budgets, experts have warned.
Collectively, councils were over-compensated by central government for the financial impact of Covid-19. But the withdrawal of support means tougher times lie ahead, says David Phillips from the...
Local government spending power will be around two percentage points lower than the 4.6% trailed by the government in the final funding settlement announced yesterday, according to a local government...
Adult social care funding will be slashed for metropolitan councils in England with cash being funnelled to shire counties under the government’s new fair funding formula, according to analysis.
Protecting social care spending has forced English councils to cut other services by 40% in the last 10 years, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The communities secretary has postponed implementation of changes to local government funding following the Fair Funding Review and to business rates retention.
The fairer funding formula and Spending Review will allow us to build a stronger, sustainable future for local government, says communities secretary James Brokenshire.
The demands on upper-tier authorities to deliver costly social care services will be more accurately reflected in the forthcoming shake-up of local government funding, MPs have heard.
The housing, communities and local government select committee has confirmed it will scrutinise council finance - after PF reported its plans last month.
CIPFA and the Institute for Fiscal Studies recently hosted a round tabled debate on the questions and issues thrown up by the government’s fair funding review. Vivienne Russell reports.
Councillors from across England expressed concern the government will fail to redistribute funds equally after a major shake-up of grant allocation, at the Labour conference.
The recalculation of local government funding allocations should take into account all the ways councils could bring in money, explains the IFS’s Neil Amin-Smith.
Brexit is likely to hamper much-needed local government reform over the next 10 years, CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman has told a conference this morning.
