Sowing the seeds of the cost-of-living crisis
It can’t be easy being the Chancellor when the Office for Budget Responsibility states that British households are about to suffer “the biggest fall in living standards since records began”.
It can’t be easy being the Chancellor when the Office for Budget Responsibility states that British households are about to suffer “the biggest fall in living standards since records began”.
In April, most families will be facing a perfect storm of soaring energy prices, rising inflation, and the extra burden of Conservative hikes to both National Insurance and council tax. Many will struggle to pay the bills – and Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s thin package of support simply does not go far enough for most.
It’s a testing but all-too-familiar mix: funding cuts from central government, skyrocketing demand for local services, a growing population, tough choices, and communities vulnerable as they recover from the pandemic.
The LGA has published a review of options for the future financing of local government.
Council core spending power could increase by 6.9 per cent in cash terms in 2022/23, according to the provisional local government finance settlement.
As we begin a new year, it’s natural to think about new beginnings. Could 2022 be the year that the Government stops dithering and finally gets a grip on council funding?
Councils face average extra annual cost pressures of £2.5 billion to maintain services at current levels, LGA analysis has found.
A three-year spending review is “long overdue” and something local government “desperately needs”, according to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick.
Despite increased government support, councils need a further £2.6 billion in this financial year to plug funding gaps arising from the pandemic.