Council leaders have warned the Government that council tax increases place ‘more financial burden on households’ without fixing the long-term pressures facing local government.
Responding to the local government finance settlement, Cllr Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, welcomed the extra £69bn for councils this year but warned it ‘falls short’.
She said councils will be forced to increase council tax – which is ‘not the answer’ to meeting long-term pressures – and will still need to cut services.
Cllr Claire Holland, chair of London Councils, warned that despite the 5.7% increase to their core spending power, London boroughs were still faced with ‘structural underfunding’ and a £500m funding gap this year.
The cross-party body also warned that at least seven boroughs will require Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the Government to balance their budgets in 2025-26 – an increase from the two boroughs relying on EFS arrangements in 2024-25.
Cllr Barry Lewis, finance spokesperson for the County Councils Network (CCN), said the finance settlement will be ‘disappointing’ for county and unitary councils because it was ‘heavily targeted towards urban councils.’
