County council leaders have called for an ‘honest discussion’ about service delivery as new research reveals local authorities spend two-thirds of their budgets on care services.
A new analysis by Pixel Financial Management (Pixel) for the County Councils Network (CCN) has revealed that councils are spending over £200 per person more on children’s services and adult social care compared to a decade ago.
The study found that per person spending on children’s services has risen 77% over the last 10 years and consumes almost a quarter (23%) of all council expenditure – up from 18% in 2014.
Spending on adult social care has risen by 48% per person over the same period.
CCN warned that spending on care was ‘squeezing’ the funding for other services such as libraries, road repairs, street lighting, and parks maintenance.
Cllr Roger Gough, CCN Spokesperson for Children’s Services said: ‘With more than two-thirds of the average county local authority’s budget now spent on just children’s services and adult social care, rising to three quarters in some areas, there is simply less and less each year for us to spend on highly valued services such as libraries, road repairs, and street lighting.
‘This month’s Budget confirmed that the public finances remain extremely tight. Therefore, we need to have an honest discussion with all main political parties as we head into the general election on what councils can reasonably be expected to deliver, in a climate where substantive extra funds are unlikely and both demand and costs are set to rise.’
