Yesterday, LGE responded to the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement Consultation with views collated from across the region.
The amount of money coming into the Local Government Sector following the spending review has increased, and we do note that some local authorities in our region have received a substantial increase in funding. However, for many of our authorities, it is felt that the funding provided is only enough to stand still.
In addition, local authority spending power per capita remains relatively low in the East of England compared to other regions, with our area receiving the second-from-last amount of funding per head in comparison. This needs to be rectified, especially given our rapidly growing population
Within our response, we ask for the following:
- With the local government sector still precarious in terms of funding, a significant boost to the spending power of all local authorities is needed.
- In future spending reviews, we ask for better transparency regarding how the figures were established, so we can be clearer on what is – and isn’t – being paid for.
- While the Government has made its long-term commitment to the housing crisis clear, we ask the Government to make a commitment to addressing issues in the short term as well by resetting LHA rates to reflect market value, and link reimbursement to 90% of those newer, more reasonable, rates. We ask the government to present the Provisional Funding Settlement to the sector earlier, to allow councils more time to consider the outcomes.
- We ask the Government to fund the new Mayoral Strategic Authorities in the East of England to the full amount they are entitled to assist with setting up the authorities, and to ensure that valuable projects across the East can begin.
While we understand that funding has been increased for the local government sector, the reality is that the sector remains in a fragile place.
Cllr Carl Smith, the Lead Member for Local Government Finance for LGE, and the Leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, has said:
“While we understand that funding has been increased for the local government sector, the reality is that the sector remains in a fragile place. We ask for greater transparency around the funding, confirmed allocations for new burdens such as food waste collection, and stronger funding for temporary accommodation costs. Furthermore, we ask for the region’s Mayoral Strategic Authorities to receive their full funding from this year, so they can get started and deliver for the region.”
The full response can be found online here.