Children’s services pressures driving £6.2bn funding gap, LGA warns

A new White Paper from the LGA, published ahead of the 4 July general election, states that the funding gap “is being driven by rising cost and demand pressures to provide adult social care, children's services, homelessness support and home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)”.

These pressures are leaving councils unable to fulfil basic duties including tackling anti-social behaviour and keeping streets clean, council bosses warn.

• Challenges in next parliament

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A recent LGA survey found that two-thirds of councils have already had to make cutbacks to local neighbourhood services this year including waste collections, road repairs, library and leisure services in a bid to plug funding gaps.

The organisation is calling on all political parties to commit to a “significant and sustained increase” in funding for councils in the next Spending Review, alongside multi-year funding settlements for councils and plans to reform the local government finance system.

Without this, “cost and demand pressures will continue to stretch council budgets to the limit in the coming years, leaving more councils of all political colours and types unable to deliver their legal duties for their residents and putting vital services at further risk of cutbacks,” the paper warns.

Specific recommendations made for the next government include:

Commissioning a major review of public service reform to understand how all public services can work together within their local communities.

Reviewing early years education and childcare to ensure that the workforce has the right skills and training and ensuring early years entitlements are properly funded, with councils fully resourced to deliver their statutory duties.

Building a stronger partnership between councils, the NHS and schools, backed by new powers and a separate “inclusion” judgement in the Ofsted school inspection framework, that meets the needs of children and young people with SEND and enables more children to remain in mainstream schools.

Councillor Kevin Bentley, senior vice chairman of the LGA said: "On July 5, the next government will be faced with many challenges, whether it is building more affordable housing, improving care for adults and children, reducing homelessness, boosting inclusive growth or tackling climate change.

"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.”

Organisations working with local authorities and those supporting vulnerable children have made calls to the next government around how to improve services within the sector. Read more here.