Members of the Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent group, the official opposition at Suffolk County Council, joined forces with the Conservative administration today to call for the government to address the shortfall in central government funding for local authorities.
The council motion, moved by the opposition, seconded by the Conservatives and voted through unanimously, agrees that the council will lobby the government to put in place proper long-term funding for councils, in particular social care costs, and to address the £4 billion budget ‘gap’ faced by UK councils.
To balance the books this year, Suffolk County Council had to withdraw £15.9 million from its reserves – the equivalent of council savings accounts. In addition, the Dedicated Schools Grant Reserve, the ‘account’ used to pay for SCC schools, is £28.3 million in deficit, and predicted to be -£60.8 million by the 2026.
Other councils around the country are in a much worse way, with half of English councils not confident they have the money to fulfil their legal duties in 2024.
Councils can go ‘bankrupt’ by issuing a Section 114 notice – this means services are cut back to the minimum they have to provide by law to save money. They will generally also have to increase revenue by raising council tax and other sources of income such as parking charges. Birmingham City Council, which issued a Section 114 notice in September 2023, will be raising their council tax by 21% by 2026.
Councillor Penny Otton, who proposed the motion, said:
“With many of the councils that have issued Section 114 notices so far, it is easy to point out specific reasons why their finances have collapsed. However, the financial pressure on UK councils has never been greater and many more will now be forced into crisis.
Suffolk County Council is not in dire straits yet, but it has had to borrow heavily from its reserves to fund services this year. This isn’t sustainable in the long run.
It’s no surprise that after years of austerity, the cost further down the line is higher. Public services like the NHS and local councils are on their knees. Efficiency savings can only go so far before people will start to see the effects on non-statutory services like libraries, bus routes and of course, funding for local arts and heritage organisations as we’ve seen this year.
Councils have been at the forefront when dealing with the pandemic and cost of living crisis, helping our residents. It is time now for government to recognise the importance of local government and give it adequate financial support.
We’re thrilled that the Conservatives have got behind this motion and voted with us. We are all concerned about how we will manage financially in the future, and provide Suffolk residents with everything they need.”
Suffolk Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent Group 