As councils face soaring pressures—from social care to SEND reform—the Autumn Budget Insights series outlines exactly what local government leaders are calling on the Chancellor to deliver at next week’s budget, says LocalGov editor William Eichler.

Next week’s Autumn Budget is shaping up to be a watershed moment for local government – and not just as a financial exercise. Through our Autumn Budget Insights series, local authority voices from across the country are laying down clear demands for Chancellor Rachel Reeves: serious funding reform, long-term fiscal certainty and support for the deep structural changes councils are grappling with.

In Can reorganisation and finance move in step?, LGIU chief executive Jonathan Carr-West warns that the budget must align with sweeping local government reorganisation. Without a multi-year funding settlement that recognises reorganisation costs, councils risk instability even as they transform. Or as he puts it: without a credible funding settlement reorganisation risks becoming an ‘expensive exercise in shuffling the deckchairs on a sinking ship.’

Meanwhile, as Jonathan Werran of Localis outlines in The local government balancing act, the Chancellor faces a delicate balancing act: raising new revenues without undermining place-based growth. Local leaders want property taxation reform, fairer funding formulas, and a finance settlement that supports long-term investment—not just short-term patches.

But central to many of these calls is the social care crisis. Jess McGregor, president of ADASS, argues in Time to deliver for adult social care that central government must treat care like national infrastructure, giving councils sustainable revenue to meet spiralling demand.

And for children’s services, Darcey Snape highlights in SEND reform needed to break vicious cycle how mounting Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) numbers are driving local deficits. Without radical reform, councils warn, the system could collapse under its own financial weight.

The local government workforce will also be listening carefully to Chancellor Reeves next week. As Mike Short, head of local government at UNISON, says the Autumn Statement is a chance to protect services and staff, while Pam Parkes, president of PPMA, argues that local government cannot deliver reform or growth without investing in its workforce.

Finally, from a digital services perspective, Civica sets out in Local government’s digital imperative that councils urgently need blended capital and revenue funding to digitise services in a way that drives productivity and protects core service delivery.

This is just a short snapshot of what our Autumn Budget Insights series has to offer - visit its dedicated page to read more. But taken together, these voices form a bold, unified plea: this Budget must reflect real confidence in local government. Longer-term, predictable funding. Genuine reform. A recognition that councils are not just service deliverers – they are economic anchors, innovators, and partners in national renewal.

Discover all the latest analysis in our Autumn Budget Insights series.