The official opposition at Suffolk County Council, Suffolk GLI, have today announced that they will be proposing a motion to council on Thursday 23 May to address the shortfall in central government funding for local authorities.
The motion calls for the council to lobby the government for 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.
Suffolk County Council had to withdraw £15.9 million from its reserves – the equivalent of savings accounts – to balance the books for 2024-25. 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 2026-27 financial year.
Other councils around the country are in a much worse way, with thirteen Section 114 notices issued overall since 2018. The Local Government Association (LGA) undertook a recent survey of English councils and found that one in five council leaders and chief executives think it is likely that they will need to issue a Section 114 notice this year or next, and that half of English councils are not confident they have the money to fulfil their legal duties in 2024.
When a Section 114 notice is issued by a council, it means they are unable to commit to any new spending, and services are cut back to the minimum the council has to provide by law. In these circumstances, councils are able to make much higher rises to council tax than they are allowed to normally. Birmingham City Council is raising their council tax by 21% between now and 2026. The impact of financial difficulties on local residents is therefore very high.
One of the main reasons councils are struggling with money is the increasing demand for social care services. An average of 88 children are now coming into care every day and adult social care demand is also at a record level, with requests up to two million in 2022 and an increasingly ageing population meaning that this is likely to continue to go up. SEND support is also a massive cost for councils which continues to grow.
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 hope that our councillor colleagues are equally concerned about how we will manage financially in the future and provide residents with everything they need.”
Suffolk Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent Group 