Days before Christmas, the Government published its provisional local government finance settlement, setting out the details about local government spending in the coming financial year.
Every year it gets later; every year it is sneaked out as we break up for the holiday, trying to minimise public scrutiny of the detail.
Once again, the Government is kicking difficult subjects, such as social care funding, into the long grass. Funding will go nowhere near plugging the gap – the LGA estimates £13 billion is needed just for our social care system.
“Any increase in our funding is dwarfed by inflation”
Any increase in our funding is dwarfed by the inflation rate of 14 per cent RPI (November 2022) and massive hikes in items such as heating bills, staff costs and agency cover.
This assumes that all councils will raise their council tax by the maximum possible and puts the burden, once again, on council taxpayers in a major cost-of-living crisis.
We need to reduce the burden on our NHS by stopping people getting ill in the first place as much as possible. But the Government always delays the public health grant announcement – why? It is crucial for things such as smoking cessation programmes.
The Government still has not reversed its cuts to the public health budget – currently a real-term cut of £1 billion since the summer of 2015.
All councils require a better deal, but clarity is urgently needed for districts.
All this announcement has done is delay a long-term funding solution for the sector until after the next General Election.