Councils must be pragmatic over cash reserves – The Yorkshire Post says

Yet, while Ministers clearly intend to put the onus on metro-mayors to lead regional recoveries, it will have to work – and trust – local councils in those areas where devolution is still a work in progress.

This includes North Yorkshire County Council which is now bracing itself for a £42m ‘black hole’ in its finances despite being widely praised for the support that it is continuing to make available to rural residents.

Effectively the ‘local’ council of Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor and MP for Richmond, its predicament highlights the difficult decisions that will need to be made.

Yes, it is going to have to use some of its cash reserves if day-to-day services are to be protected for the forseeable future. Every public body is in a similar predicament and it is simply unsustainable for Mr Sunak to be expected to keep signing blank cheques and writing out IOUs.

However all councils can help Mr Sunak by reappraising their assets – whether it be buildings or historic works of art hidden away out of view – before determinining if now is the time to dispose of them to raise money to protect essential services.

Alone, this won’t be sufficient to cover social care, an area of policy in need of national reform, but it might help to provide some temporary financial respite and help Mr Sunak as he comes up with a new spending framework.

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