Councils fear impact of more cuts

The general election result has given the green light to further austerity in public sector spending, with debate starting over how the £13bn of departmental savings are to be made.

Exactly how further funding cuts will affect local government is so far unknown, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts that services not offered protection from cuts by ministers could see a 15 per cent budget reduction by 2018/19.

With the government promising to only protect spending on schools, the NHS and overseas aid, local authorities face the prospect of further deep budget cuts. Local government leaders are so concerned of the impact this will have on services, they have urged new Communities Secretary Greg Clark to call a halt to them.

In a letter published last week on behalf of 375 councils, Local Government Association (LGA) chairman David Sparks said: “Further local government funding reductions over the next five years is not an option. The new government must consider the consequences that further cuts will have on the services that bind our communities and protect the most vulnerable.”

Sparks’ letter adds that vital services will “struggle to continue at current levels”, with other parts of the public sector, such as the NHS, “left to pick up the pieces”.

One area this could affect is commissioning of local early health services, which from September are set to be integrated into councils, and then extended to older children in the future. But some are concerned the arrangements will not be equitable.

Professor Russell Viner, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says: “Joint commissioning across health and local authorities will initially focus on the under-five programme, and we understand that clinical commissioning groups and local authorities are determined to work together well to implement it, with assistance from NHS England.