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England’s municipalities are planning to cut funding for frontline services, including adult and childcare, in response to a growing cash crisis.
As pressure mounts on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to bail out the councils in this week’s public spending review, local authorities are forecast to exceed their budgets by more than a billion pounds this financial year. The Local Government Association (LGA) predicts a deficit of £ 4bn next year without help from the government.
The West Sussex council, which faces a £ 44m shortfall next year, plans to cut funding for early years and subsidized bus services, as well as cancel its Help at Home service, which helps nearly 700 Vulnerable older people with basic household tasks such as cleaning and shopping.
In south London, Lewisham’s plans include cutting family services at children’s centers and ending a plan that subsidizes public transport fares for disabled residents. And Manchester City Council’s “least worst” scenario is cuts to services for people who sleep in difficult situations and a 20% reduction in housing-related support budgets, which it admits would cause an increase in homelessness. housing and sleep.
Hull’s council, which has been hit hard by the second wave of Covid, is among several who warn it will have a difficult time providing mandatory services next year without a fresh injection of cash.
City councils say the cuts are the result of a decade of austerity combined with the impact of the pandemic, which has increased demand for services and severely affected revenue sources such as city taxes, parking fees and commercial rates.
Critics accuse the government of reneging on its promises to fully compensate the councils for Covid-related losses. Kate Hollern, shadow minister for local government, said: “In May, the community secretary promised to support the councils. Since he has kept that promise again.
“If the government doesn’t want the councils to collapse, it must deliver on its promise so that the services that communities desperately depend on during this pandemic are not eliminated next year.”
Adult care services are facing great successes. The Leeds council, which proposes, among other options, the closure of two residences and 10% cuts to services for people with dementia and caregivers, the Leeds council says the impact could be lessened if the government provides more funding. Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: “If anyone wonders if the government’s strategy of waiting for municipalities to fund social assistance locally has run amok, they finally know the answer now. Not only have municipalities exhausted other services that can reasonably be expected to cut back, but local social care needs are not correlated with the amounts of funding that different areas can raise. “
The LGA is asking the government to inject an additional £ 8.7bn into local government next year, to cover the anticipated spending gap of £ 4bn plus extra money to improve services and manage growing demand.
Richard Watts, chairman of the LGA resource board, said: “Many councils were in a difficult financial position before the pandemic after a decade of funding cuts from the central government. They will continue to face spiraling pressures on daily services. – some pre-existing and others made more significant by the impact of Covid-19, amid substantial losses of revenue, such as local taxes, fees and charges. Ensuring the immediate and long-term sustainability of local services must now be the top priority for the spending review. “
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are providing city councils with unprecedented support during the pandemic to cope with the pressures that we have been told they face, including funding of £ 7.2 billion, compensation for sunk losses and a scheme that allows them to spread their fiscal deficits. “Any council” concerned about their future financial situation, “added the spokesperson,” should contact MHCLG. “
