December's local government finance settlement was grim. Analysis by the Local Government Association has concluded that councils are set to lose a further £2.2bn of national revenue support grant funding in 2017/18. That is a 30 per cent cut on 2016/17.
It predicts that the next 12 months will be hugely challenging for all local authorities. It warns that there will inevitably be reductions in services across the board including core services such as children's centres, but also the things that contribute to child wellbeing that we often take for granted like maintenance of parks and green spaces.
And with most councils agreeing to a new four-year financial settlement, we also now know that things are not going to get better any time soon. In fact, it is estimated that local authorities now face an overall funding gap of a £5.8bn by 2020.
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