Council leader responds to local government finance settlement

Cllr Kemp said: "Today’s settlement does not provide enough funding to meet the severe cost and demand pressures which have left councils of all political colours and types warning of the serious challenges they face to set balanced budgets next year.

"Councils in England face a funding gap of £4 billion over the next two years and today’s announcement does not change the funding gap facing councils this year and next. 

"The funding uplift announced by the Government today assumes that all councils will increase their council tax bills by the maximum allowed in 2024/25 which means councils are again left facing the difficult choice about raising bills to bring in desperately needed funding. 

"This will also leave hard working families to pick up the tab with higher council tax and local services cut to the bone.

"It is unthinkable that government has not provided desperately-needed new funding for local services in 2024/25. Although councils are working hard to reduce costs where possible, this means the local services our communities rely on every day are now exposed to further cuts.

"Demand for crucial services provided by councils – such as Children’s Services, Adult Social Care, Temporary Accommodation and Home to School transport – is rising, and inflationary pressures are increasing costs for councils. This has left councils facing a perfect storm of rising demand and costs – all following thirteen years of continued cuts to council finances.

“No council is immune to the growing risk to their financial sustainability. The Government urgently needs to address the growing financial crisis facing councils and come up with a long-term plan to sufficiently fund local services through multi-year settlements. We will continue to work hard to deliver for our communities despite these financial challenges.”