Councils, cuts and Covid crisis

Rashford’s latest reality check

IT IS important to place the latest tranche of emergency funding for cash- strapped local councils into context. Town halls were already in financial trouble, with some teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, before the Covid- 19 pandemic struck.

As Government grants have been scaled back as a result of a decade of austerity, demand for key services – adult social care being the prime example – has escalated relentlessly.

Yet Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary, was oblivious to this when he was asked to defend the Government from the growing furore over the provision of free meals to vulnerable children during school holidays.

He said – repeatedly – that the Government had made more money available. What he could – or would – not grasp is that it has already been spent and that this social emergency would be even greater if it was not for footballer Marcus Rashford’s inspirational campaign and the humanity of all those now providing practical help.

As the more enlightened Tory MPs are beginning to realise, albeit belatedly, public attitudes have shifted and there is a growing a societal expectation that hot meals for children in poverty should be one of the state’s priorities. But this doesn’t escape the fact that local government finances are being held together by a thread and this proverbial hand- to- mouth existence will be perpetuated by Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending review being limited to one year.

Again, this will make it harder for councils to plan for the future. But, equally, no spending review will be satisfactory unless it dares to redress the one policy area that both Mr Hancock and his predecessor Jeremy Hunt have ignored – social care and its funding.

Until that happens, and Mr Hancock recognises that this is part of his remit, the odds will remain stacked against Yorkshire councils despite the best endeavours of officials, staff and carers.