Cuts | LocalGov

IFS: £2.5bn Sure Start delivered ‘substantial benefits’

09/04/2024

Children eligible for free school meals who grew up near a Sure Start centre performed up to three grades better at GCSEs than those further away, IFS finds.

Council-run bus services cut by 90%

02/04/2024

Over 90% of council-run bus services have been cut since 2010, a new analysis has revealed.

Leader of cash-strapped Notts council to step down

12/03/2024

The leader of financially stricken Nottingham City Council has announced he is stepping down in May.

Woking BC approves 10% council tax hike

06/03/2024

Woking BC councillors have approved a nearly 10% council tax hike authorised by the Government after the council's issuing of a Section 114 notice.

Brum members approve £300m of cuts

06/03/2024

Councillors at Birmingham City Council have signed off on £300m of cuts over two years and dramatic council tax increases.

Basic efficiency savings all ‘long gone’, Chancellor told

05/03/2024

No more 'basic efficiencies' left to make, leaders tell Chancellor in response to reports he will call for consultants and diversity schemes to be cut.

Tax cuts could drive 55,000 into poverty

05/03/2024

Tax cuts reportedly being considered by the Chancellor in tomorrow's Budget could result in tens of thousands of people being driven into poverty.

Scottish Budget 'not good' for communities

28/02/2024

Next year’s Scottish Budget is ‘not good’ for communities, council leaders have said.

Warnings over job cuts repercussions

28/02/2024

Councils embarking on mass job cuts have been warned it will have grave repercussions for the senior managers of the future.

14 councils ‘likely’ to issue s114s next year

28/02/2024

More than half of councils are likely to issue a section 114 notice within the next parliament unless funding is reformed, senior local authority figures have warned.

Stoke-on-Trent warns services may be ‘stripped to the bone’

26/02/2024

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has warned its budget plans rest on a bid to secure an extra £42.2m in Government funding.

Newcastle signs off on £15m spending cuts

21/02/2024

Newcastle City Council’s cabinet has approved budget proposals that will see spending cut by £15m over the next year.

Bristol councillors fail to approve budget

21/02/2024

Councillors have failed to agree on Bristol City Council’s proposed budget, which included a 4.99% council tax increase and more than £24m of cuts.

Brum set to sell off £750m of assets

20/02/2024

Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council is set to sell off £750m of assets and cut spending on services by £300m in an effort to balance the books.

Nottingham executive refuses to back budget cuts

14/02/2024

Executive members of cash-strapped Nottingham City Council have refused to recommend a report that sets out £20m in budget cuts.

Suffolk council leaders warn of ‘catastrophic’ HRS proposals

13/02/2024

Suffolk council leaders have warned of ‘a catastrophic effect’ on vulnerable residents should Suffolk CC agree proposed Housing Related Support changes.

Birmingham councillors back 18% pay rise delay

08/02/2024

Councillors at cash-strapped Birmingham City Council have voted to delay pay increases for members.

Kent CC proposes over 180 redundancies

02/02/2024

Kent County Council has proposed axing hundreds of jobs as part of a move to transform services and deliver savings.

Conservative MPs call for emergency funding for councils

22/01/2024

MPs representing county areas have called on the Government to provide emergency funding to cash-strapped councils to prevent further cuts to local services.

Brum considers axing 600 jobs

17/01/2024

Birmingham City Council could be forced to axe hundreds of jobs as the struggling local authority attempts to balance its books.

Scottish councils face ‘difficult decisions’ on cuts

16/01/2024

‘Intensifying pressures’ on Scottish local authorities mean they must make difficult decisions on service delivery to remain financially sustainable, a watchdog has said.

Stoke-on-Trent council warns of ‘radical cuts’

09/01/2024

Stoke-on-Trent City Council may be forced to declare effective bankruptcy and make ‘radical cuts’ to services if extra Government support is not secured.

Somerset Council warns of ‘heart-breaking’ cuts

08/01/2024

Public toilets, theatres, and leisure services in Somerset are set to be hit by cuts as the unitary authority attempts to bridge a £100m budget gap.

Bradford Council to cut more than 100 jobs

04/01/2024

Bradford Council is set to cut 113 jobs as part of an initiative to find £40m in the next three years in an effort to avoid declaring effective bankruptcy.

Support programme for libraries launched

03/01/2024

A charity representing public libraries has launched a support programme for council library services facing spending cuts.

Nine million adults lack essential skills

03/01/2024

Nine million adults lack essential skills with skill level disparities within local areas far exceeding those between local and combined authorities.

Birmingham outlines £150m of cuts

14/12/2023

Birmingham City Council has outlined nearly £150m of proposed savings as it tries to plug a £300m budget gap.

Quarter of Scottish councils fear bankruptcy

13/12/2023

Nearly a quarter of Scottish councils fear they will be unable to balance their budget next year, new research shows.

Nottingham proposes cutting 550 jobs

13/12/2023

Nottingham City Council has proposed cutting 554 full-time equivalent posts in an attempt to tackle its financial shortfall.

Leeds councillors to discuss axing 750 employees

06/12/2023

Senior councillors in Leeds are set to discuss plans to reduce staffing levels by 750 by the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

One in five councils report bankruptcy fears

06/12/2023

A poll of council leaders and chief executives has revealed that one in five think it likely that their chief finance officer will need to issue a Section 114.

Campaigners warn of ‘silent war’ on bus services

28/11/2023

Bus services have seen a dramatic decline over the past 15 years, with provision decreasing by more than 60% in 80 local authority areas, research reveals.

Can local government take much more?

27/11/2023

Dr Andrew Walker, head of Research, LGIU reflects on the Autumn Statement and asks: what might it take for the Government to pay attention to local authorities?

Social care leaders forced to find millions in extra savings

16/11/2023

Council social care leaders are having to find millions of pounds of extra savings this year despite winter pressures approaching, a new survey has revealed.

Cambridge faces £6m budget cuts

15/11/2023

Cambridge City Council needs to make an extra £6m of savings over the next three years and £11.1m in new savings by 2029.

DCN in cuts warning

24/10/2023

Cultural services, community support and parks and green spaces are all at risk of cuts without a boost to the local government finance settlement, respondents to a District Councils’ Network (DCN) survey have warned.

Museums and the cost-of-culture crisis

11/10/2023

India Divers, policy and campaigns officer, Museums Association looks at the impact on museums of the financial squeeze faced by most local authorities.

Thousand pools shut since 2010

05/10/2023

More than 1,000 publicly accessible pools have closed since 2010, England’s governing body for swimming has found.

Hampshire County Council on ‘financial cliff edge’

05/10/2023

Hampshire CC has warned that cuts to services and job losses are inevitable as the council is facing ‘one of the biggest budget shortfalls in its history’.

Council U-turns on decision to close 39 facilities

04/10/2023

North Lanarkshire Council has reversed its plan to close 39 community facilities after Scotland’s First Minister blasted the decision as ‘short sighted’.

Council suspends social media comments to stop ‘abuse’ after facility closures

03/10/2023

North Lanarkshire Council has suspended Twitter users’ ability to comment on its posts and said people’s anger over a decision to close 39 facilities ‘does not entitle them to post abuse’.

Council to shut 39 facilities

02/10/2023

North Lanarkshire Council has decided to close 39 community facilities in response to its financial shortfall.

Brum kicks off job cuts

27/09/2023

Birmingham City Council has started a wide-ranging programme of job cuts under emergency plans.

Derbyshire agrees measures to close £46m budget gap

22/09/2023

Councillors at Derbyshire County Council have signed off on a series of cost control measures to address a £46m budget gap.

Cash-strapped councils forced to sell £15bn of assets

21/09/2023

About 75,000 public assets worth £15bn have been sold by cash-strapped English councils since 2010, according to Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Unions reject latest COSLA offer

14/09/2023

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has warned trade unions face a choice between ‘real cuts to jobs and services’ and increased pay.

Woking entered s114 territory in 2018

13/09/2023

Woking BC may have faced a section 114 notice at least four years before it declared effective bankruptcy, senior councillors have been told.

Government slashes pothole repair funding by £2bn

14/08/2023

The UK has fallen behind other high-income countries when it comes to funding repairs in pothole-ridden local roads, council chiefs warn.

Hastings' financial controls 'not fully developed'

31/07/2023

Senior Hastings BC councillors will be urged next week to ‘bring in and embed more stringent financial controls and accountability to urgently reduce spending’.

Third of parents say school travel affected by cuts

12/07/2023

Almost a third of parents say that their child’s school travel has been affected by funding cuts, new research has revealed.

Bankrupt Woking consults on future of services

12/07/2023

Woking Borough Council has launched a consultation on its discretionary services after it halted all non-essential spending due to unsustainable debts.

Councils face £3bn funding gap, LGA warns

04/07/2023

Councils in England face a funding gap of almost £3bn over the next two years just to maintain services at their current level, the LGA reveals.

Case for better pay ‘clear cut’, union says

13/06/2023

The case for better pay in local government is ‘compelling and clear cut’, according to Unison general secretary Christina McAnea.

Preventing future Section 114 notices

13/06/2023

Joanne Pitt, Local Government Policy manager at CIPFA, reflects on Woking BC’s financial troubles and looks at the lessons for other councils.

Council tax up nearly 80% in three decades

13/06/2023

Council tax has increased by 79% in real terms on average since it was introduced 30 years ago, according to new figures.

Enfield trading standards cuts risk public safety

08/06/2023

Enfield Council is at risk of becoming the first local authority without a Trading Standards team after a decision to let go of three quarters of the team.

Austerity left Britain ‘unprepared' for pandemic, TUC say

06/06/2023

Years of austerity left Britain 'hugely unprepared' for the COVID pandemic with tragic consequences, union leaders have claimed.

Scottish councils ‘uniquely placed’ to assist reform

17/05/2023

Councils are well-placed to deliver the key aims of Scotland’s government – such as tackling child poverty and net zero – but need funding, experts warn.

School cuts cost pupils £5,000 each

04/05/2023

Cuts to school funding over the last decade and a half have cost pupils £5,000 each in lost education, new research reveals.

Poorest councils suffer cuts three times higher than richest

26/04/2023

The poorest councils have suffered cuts in Government funding nearly three times higher than the richest, according to a research group.

Councils fear parks services will be ‘seriously affected’ by cuts

19/04/2023

Many councils are expecting cuts in their budgets for parks despite growing numbers of people using them, according to a new survey.

Legal threat forces Devon CC to halt care cuts

17/04/2023

Devon County Council will halt its plans to cut adult day and respite services after the mental health charity Mencap threatened to take legal action.

Austerity undermined local response to COVID-19, study finds

31/03/2023

The hollowing-out of local capability by a decade of cuts left local government struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says.

DfT shaves local funding from £400m charge point announcement

30/03/2023

Ministers appear to have cut Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding to local authorities by tens of millions over the next two years.

Mencap threatens council with legal action over cuts

30/03/2023

A learning disability charity has threatened to take legal action against Devon CC over the council's plans to ‘severely cut’ adult day and respite services.

Hunt set to restore £200m of local roads cash

13/03/2023

Ministers are set to announce an extra £200m for local road maintenance.

Councils forced to axe road improvement schemes

10/03/2023

Councils are planning to axe millions of pounds of road improvements because of rising costs and lack of funds, according to new research.

Croydon approves 15% tax hike

09/03/2023

Croydon LBC has approved a 15% council tax increase as part of a 2023-24 budget that was originally rejected.

Over 50% of councils set to cut spending on services

07/03/2023

Half of councils are planning to cut spending on services, increase commercial investments or spend their reserves to make ends meet this year, poll reveals.

Majority of councils opt for 5% council tax rises

14/02/2023

Three quarters of councils will increase their council tax by the maximum allowed without a referendum in April.

Holyrood accused of ‘massive contradiction’ over cuts

08/02/2023

Scottish council leaders have accused the Edinburgh government of cutting their funding while at the same time forcing them to provide extra services.

Eastleigh finance review to start

07/02/2023

The Government has commissioned a review of Eastleigh BC’s finances to start this week after concerns over its debt levels.

Councils ‘in the dark’ about public health funding

06/02/2023

Vital frontline services, such as drug and alcohol treatment, are at risk of being cut unless Government announces public health funding for next year.

Scottish councils take legal advice over teacher cuts

30/01/2023

Scottish councils are taking legal advice on the SNP government’s threat to penalise them if they cut teacher numbers.

Commissioner ‘optimistic’ about council’s future

27/01/2023

A Government-appointed commissioner says he is optimistic about Liverpool City Council's future despite warnings of ‘considerable uncertainty’ ahead.

Holyrood to order councils to stop teacher cuts

26/01/2023

The Scottish government is considering ordering councils to stop cutting teacher numbers after local government body COSLA expressed concerns over funding.

Funding cuts reduce health visitor force by 40%

18/01/2023

The number of health visitors has plummeted by nearly 40% since 2015 due to public health grant cuts, local authority leaders warn.

Holyrood accused of ‘confusing’ council funding claims

16/01/2023

Local authority leaders in Scotland have accused the Scottish government of ‘confusing’ the public over local government spending and called for ‘clarity’.

Minister accepts early intervention is 'critical'

09/12/2022

Early intervention is ‘critical,’ minister concedes as Government told to publish its delayed plan for implementing children’s social care recommendations.

Khan backtracks on bus cuts

24/11/2022

London mayor Sadiq Khan has backed down on a threat of large-scale cuts to the capital’s bus network after finding additional funding of around £25m a year.

Council leader warns of cuts to close £22m budget gap

22/11/2022

Herefordshire Council leader yesterday wrote to the PM warning the local authority will have to make ‘difficult decisions’ to close a £22m budget gap.

Council chiefs warn of impending cuts

11/11/2022

Council chiefs warn ‘everything on the table’ when it comes to cuts as poll reveals only one in five county councils are confident of balancing their budgets.

Devon council leader warns of ‘deep cuts’

02/11/2022

Devon County Council’s leader has warned the council will have to make ‘deep cuts’ to the county’s local services unless the Government provides more help.

Cornwall Council warns of cuts to fill £62m hole

02/11/2022

Cornwall Council has warned that it may be forced to cut spending on discretionary services as it seeks to fill a budget gap of £62m.

London councils face £700m funding gap

01/11/2022

Councils in London will be forced to find £700m of savings unless the Government boosts funding for local services in the capital, cross-party group says.

Chancellor warned local services ‘on a cliff-edge’

01/11/2022

Local authority leaders have urged the PM ahead of the upcoming autumn statement to ensure that councils have the funding necessary to protect services.

Benefit cuts leave council welfare schemes ‘over-burdened’

28/10/2022

Cuts to benefits have left local authority-administered discretionary welfare support funds ‘over-burdened’, think tank warns.

Council chiefs warn against ‘devastating’ cuts

27/10/2022

Further cuts to local government funding will mean that councils will only be able to offer the ‘bare minimum’ of local services, county council leaders warn.

Public health budget slashed by a quarter, charity reveals

26/10/2022

A charity has warned against cuts to public health as an analysis reveals that austerity under Conservative governments has hit the poorest the hardest.

Councils warn PM Sunak of impending cuts

24/10/2022

Council chiefs warn that they will have ‘no choice’ but to cut services unless the new PM provides them with enough funding to tackle cost-of-living crisis.

Benefit cuts to reduce incomes of nine million households

13/10/2022

Plans to cut benefits by increasing them below inflation will leave the poorest struggling to get by on incomes that will drop to levels not seen since 2000.

Councils warn of £2.5bn ‘threat’ to services

04/10/2022

Two thirds of surveyed councils said they either faced a ‘threat’ to or ‘extreme pressure’ on key service delivery over the next financial year, poll reveals.

Council bonfire nights go up in flames

03/10/2022

Leeds City Council has become the latest local authority to cancel the annual bonfire and firework events due to budgetary constraints.

Councils face £900m shortfall due to inflation

29/09/2022

District council leaders have warned that services that are essential for supporting residents through the cost-of-living crisis are threatened by inflation.

Cuts to support for children with alcoholic parents branded ‘crazy’

18/08/2022

A charity has warned that Government funding cuts to the support available for children with alcoholic parents is ‘crazy’.

Bus funding cuts set to ‘decimate’ northern network

16/08/2022

The withdrawal of vital funding for bus services will only worsen the cost of living crisis, mayors from the North of England have told the Government.

Scottish council with £14m budget gap warns of cuts

03/08/2022

West Dunbartonshire Council leader Martin Rooney has warned of impending public service cuts due to the local authority’s £14m budget gap.

Council warns of 20% cuts to cope with financial crisis

30/06/2022

Oxford City Council has said that they are facing ‘tough choices’ over the coming months due to the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Local government austerity linked to poor health

24/06/2022

Local authority cuts have been a significant driver of poor health outcomes at the local level, according to new research.

Universal Credit failing to meet basic cost of living, charity warns

17/05/2022

The £20 per week cut to Universal Credit (UC) means that the benefit is failing to meet the basic cost of living, a children’s charity has warned.

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Banning urban pesticide use

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