‘Truly worrying time’ for future of council services
ABIGAIL DONOGHUE
GOV E R N M E N T cuts will leave councils close to breaking point, Mike Amesbury has warned.
The Weaver Vale MP and shadow employment minister, spoke after it was revealed Chancellor Phillip Hammond plans to cut £1.3bn from the frontline council services in the next months.
Local authorities say main grant funding from central Government will be cut by 36% in 2019-20. Since 2010, councils will have lost 60% of grants provided for services and 168 councils will not get any of the grant money according to the Local Government Association (LGA).
Mr Amesbury, who is also a vice president of the Local Government Association and a former councillor, said: “Cheshire West And Chester, and Halton councils in my constituency and right around the country have been cut to the bone.
“Many authorities are struggling to perform even the most basic of services and provide care for the elderly and disabled.”
Mr Amesbury believes the situation is made even more pressing by the fact that councils are also under greater pressure to deliver services as austerity continues to bite. ●
Earlier this year the National Audit Office published a report entitled Financial sustainability of local authorities 2018 which showed central Government funding for councils was down by almost 50%, while demand for many services was rising.
It found that the number of households entitled to homelessness support increased by 33.9%; the number of looked-after children grew by 10.9%; and the estimated number of older people needing care rose by 14.3%.
Mr Amesbury added: “For many authorities the rise in demand is much greater, and the funding gap even wider. We’re entering a truly worrying time and once these services are lost they’ll be difficult, if not impossible, to bring back.”
“The Government needs to pay heed to the warnings of local government before it’s too late.”