The Local Government Association (LGA) said on Friday that Councils in England face a funding gap of £6.2 billion over the next two years.
The body, which represents 315 of 317 councils in England, said the only way the next government can solve the issue is to provide “long-term financial certainty” and empower councils.
According to the LGA, the funding gap is driven by record numbers of homeless families and children, rising demand pressure and costs of adult social care, and “spiralling costs and pressures for children’s social care and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including home-school transport.”
The pressures meant funding for everyday services has been squeezed, the LGA said, citing its recent survey that found two-thirds of councils have had to cut services including bin collections, road repairs, and library and leisure services in the current financial year.
In a Local Government White Paper, the labour-led LGA called for increased and sustainable funding, a public service reform, and increased powers for local authorities to build homes and drive economic growth.
Conservative councillor Kevin Bentley, senior vice chairman of the LGA, said: “We all rely on local government to keep our streets clean, collect our bins, fix our potholes, build more homes, create jobs, keep children safe, and support people of all ages to live fulfilling lives.
“However, a funding gap facing local services of more than £6 billion over the next two years—fuelled by rising cost and demand pressures—means a chasm will continue to grow between what people and their communities need and want from their councils and what councils can deliver.”
Mr. Bentley said the next government, which will enter Whitehall on July 5, will be faced with “many challenges,” and called on it to work with local governments.
“Local government’s offer to the next government is huge. Respect us, trust us, and fund us. By working together as equal partners, we can meet the fundamental long-term challenges facing our communities,” he said.
The LGA proposed five “priorities to drive change,” including equal partnerships between central and local governments, multi-year funding settlements and combined funding pots, empowering local governments as leaders, a focus on prevention to reduce the demand for health and social care services, and freeing officials from administrative work with technology including AI.
The call came a week after the Tory-led County Councils Network (CCN), England’s other representative body for local authorities, said country councils are facing a £2 billion funding gap over the next two years, or £1.1 billion when council tax rises and planned savings are taken into account.
The network said 68 percent of the average county authority budget has been consumed by adult social care and children’s services, with its members overspending on children’s services budgets by £360 million last year.
It also said that the number of children in care in county areas has increased by 12 percent since 2019, and costs of delivering school transport for special educational needs pupils have doubled to £800 million in the same time frame.
In a “Manifesto for Counties,” the CCN called for a “minimum four-year funding settlement for councils” in future spending reviews, and a “significant uplift in funding for councils over the Parliament.”
Last month, Campaign group the Taxpayers’ Alliance said its research found that local authorities are sitting on nearly 2 million pieces of art, worth almost £1.5 billion, but only 28 percent of the works are on public display.
The pressure group called on local governments to either display the works or consider selling them to fill the budget gaps.
