LGA warns over impact of council funding cuts

The LGA said a planned £10bn reduction in government funding over the next two years will see councils have to make tough decisions about popular services such as children’s centres, youth services, parks and libraries.

LGA modelling, which factors in reduced funding and rising demand for adult social care, shows that money available to provide such popular services will shrink by two-thirds by the end of the decade.

It based its modelling on a survey of English local authorities’ spending plans for the next two financial years, which found 60 per cent said they would be unable to meet all their existing commitments just through making efficiency savings.

Instead, half of councils said they would have to dip into reserves to reduce the impact of cuts in 2015/16 and 2016/17, while two in five planned to raise income through higher charges for using services such as leisure facilities.

The projected cuts are likely to result in further reductions to staff, services and facilities at England’s 3,000 children’s centres, around 500 of which have closed since 2010.

The findings mirror those of a separate survey of voluntary and community-run children’s centres in London carried out by Children England that found 35 per cent said securing sufficient funding was the biggest challenge they face over the coming year.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, vice chairman of the LGA, said: “Local authorities have strived to shield residents from the impact of cuts, but we’re approaching a tipping point where options are fast running out. The next two years will be the toughest yet for those who use and rely upon the popular local services councils provide.
 
“Many councils are likely to need to spend reserves set aside for emergencies and long-term investments just to balance the books over the next two years. This short-term fix will delay the impact of looming cuts, but it will store up further difficulties in the long-term as reserves run dry.
 
“Local government has led the way at improving and modernising the way we do things but further cuts will lead to fewer and poorer services unless government commits to a new way of working.”

The LGA received survey responses from 73 of England’s 152 local authorities.