Local services could reach ‘breaking point’ if the next government fails to deliver long-term funding and ‘fundamental reform’, a cross-party group of council leaders has argued.
The County Councils Network (CCN) has urged the next government to set out increased and long-term funding for councils in its next Spending Review.
But this must be coupled with reform in the services that are under the most pressure, the network argues in its new Manifesto for Counties.
The CCN said without an uplift in funds for adult social care and children’s services, councils would have to ‘carefully consider what services can reasonably be delivered above the statutory minimum’.
The manifesto calls for price caps to tackle ‘spiralling’ costs in the children’s residential care market, reform to SEND and school transport systems, and extended economic devolution.
The leaders of the CCN’s Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent groups said: ‘With the public finances tight and non-protected government departments potentially facing a real-terms reduction, it is vital that all political parties focus on securing long-term growth.
‘Our manifesto sets out how to empower county authorities through new economic powers and devolved funding streams so they can create the prosperity of the future to help fund local public services in the long-term.’
