Local authorities in England are set to be poorer by the end of this parliament than they were in 2010, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Government (IfG).
The Public Services Performance Tracker 2025 found that one in six upper-tier authorities will rely on emergency funding in 2025/26, while reserves have fallen to their lowest levels since 2011/12.
Over two-thirds of council spending now goes on adult and children’s social care, up from around half in 2009/10, with the cost of adult social care rising faster than inflation for the past decade.
Supported by the Nuffield Foundation, the report also highlighted that only two of the 68 local authorities assessed by the Care Quality Commission achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating.
Spending on children’s social care has doubled relative to the growth in children in care, while a shortage of fostering households continues to strain the system.
Meanwhile, pressures from homelessness have intensified. Net spending on temporary accommodation has increased nineteen-fold since 2009/10, and one in 200 households now lives in temporary housing.
To read more about the upcoming Autumn Budget check out the following from our Autumn Budget Insights series: The local government balancing act by Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis.
