In a sobering report on public services published last month, the Institute for Government (IfG) struck an almost lyrical note when recalling the performance of England’s councils before they were kneecapped by austerity. “When [Labour] last left office, in 2010,” the report notes, “local authorities provided many services beyond their statutory duties that supported people to live better lives. Authorities ran more Sure Start centres and operated many more libraries. Youth clubs, and youth services, were a common feature of neighbourhoods up and down the country.”
It was a different era, and one with priorities that the present government is committed to reinstating. Since returning to power, Labour has been making laudable incremental moves to that end. Last week, the local government minister, Alison McGovern, outlined a funding shake-up intended to redirect resources towards more deprived areas, where councils suffered disproportionately from austerity cuts. Multi-year financial settlements will give councils more certainty and control, while cities will welcome new backing for a modest tourist levy on overnight stays.
This is much more than tinkering at the edges, but it is not nearly enough. Though this year’s real-terms funding increase will be followed by above-inflation rises for the next three years, councils remain cash-strapped and burdened by challenges that they are in no position to confront. The statutory provision of adult social care now eats up more than two-thirds of council budgets, as the government refuses to grasp the nettle of reform. The delayed publication of the schools white paper on special educational needs and disabilities (Send) means another fiscal crisis has been kicked down the road. According to the County Councils Network, 59 councils would be immediately obliged to declare themselves bankrupt, were it not for a “statutory override” that allows them to keep Send debt off their main books.
Such pressures have led to modern local authorities being described as overstretched “adult social care factories”. And as the losing battle on core obligations is fought, council capacity in other areas has been hollowed out. As the government pursues an ambitious target of building 1.5m homes in the next three years, the Royal Town Planning Institute has warned that budget cuts are leading to an exodus of the public sector planners vital to overseeing the process.
Collateral damage to the kind of placemaking services that contribute to communal wellbeing is also spreading. One recent survey of English councils found that 60% are now planning to sell off assets, with many having already tapped deep into financial reserves. Social clubs and sports centres are on the list of targets. These are the kinds of closures that corrode the fabric of places, heightening a sense of community decline and political disillusionment.
Ms McGovern has suggested that Labour’s ongoing reforms will allow councils to assume a “new role … as agents of renewal”. But the IfG’s analysis of future funding suggests local authorities could still be poorer overall by the end of this parliament than they were in 2010. Responsibility for the gutting of municipal England lies squarely with the Conservative governments that vandalised the public realm for over a decade. But true renewal will require proper financial sustainability, and offering the kind of fiscal headroom that will allow local government to expand its gaze beyond the day‑to‑day anxieties of crisis management.
