After months of LGA and council warnings that growing funding gaps would lead to cuts in services, the Government announced in January that an additional £600 million will be included in the final local government finance settlement for 2024/25.
The lack of extra funding for local services in December’s provisional local government finance settlement has left councils facing a growing financial crisis.
The Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement on 22 November, setting out plans to support businesses and get more people into work, and to invest in infrastructure and levelling up.
Dealing with the budgetary and financial pressures facing councils continues to dominate the focus of the LGA and our teams, ahead of the Autumn Statement on 22 November.
It may already seem a long time ago, but I hope you had a chance to recharge your batteries over the summer, ahead of what promises to be another challenging and rewarding year in local government.
It is a true honour to become Chair of the LGA, building on the legacy of my predecessors while setting out our future priorities.
In July 2019, I stood up to give my first speech as LGA Chairman at our annual conference in Bournemouth – and on 4 July I will returning there to hand the reins to my successor, Cllr Shaun Davies.
Congratulations to all of you who were elected for the first time on 4 May, and to those who were re-elected.
Early May looks like being a particularly busy period for local government (as if there is ever a quiet moment!).
Councils in England are pleased to have at long last received their public health grant.