Devolution deals and extra cost-of-living support were welcomed, but the Budget failed to address systemic funding issues in local government, sector bodies have warned.
The government should focus on the “fundamental problems” facing councils, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities has said after a Treasury minister raised concerns over community assets...
A “completely broken” local government funding system has put 21 councils at risk of issuing Section 114 notices this year and next, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities has warned.
The government’s supposed flagship policy of levelling up will fail if councils do not receive additional funding and powers, experts have said after one of the policy’s original architects said...
The government will fail to eradicate regional inequalities across the UK without providing additional support to more deprived areas and ending competitive bidding pots, urban council leaders have...
Local authorities in the most deprived areas of England have faced government cuts far outstripping those faced by the richest areas – a situation one council leader said needs to be reversed “for ‘...
The coronavirus pandemic and tighter government lending rules led to a 41% real-terms contraction in councils' payments for land and buildings last year, according to provisional outturn figures.
The monthly financial impact of Covid-19 on councils in England has fallen below £1bn for the first time since the start of the crisis, running at 60% of the £1.5bn peaks in April and May.
Business rate income for local authorities halved in the first quarter, while council tax income stayed steady, according to the first official figures on the impact of Covid-19 on council income.
Secretary of state Robert Jenrick has told local authorities he will “try his best” to secure more government funding for councils if it is needed as councils struggle to deal with financial burdens...
£500m additional Covid-19-related funding from central government is not enough to prevent cuts to local authority budgets, according to the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities.
