Jobs and services under threat at councils '˜pushed to the edge'

FRESH council tax hikes and deeper cuts to services are on the horizon as local authorities are pushed 'closer to the financial edge' by the Government's spending squeeze.
Council leaders have written to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to warn him what the impact will be of the latest reductions to local authority support.Council leaders have written to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to warn him what the impact will be of the latest reductions to local authority support.
Council leaders have written to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to warn him what the impact will be of the latest reductions to local authority support.

New funding settlements from government are worse than expected for many English councils and the impact will be keenly felt by communities, the Local Government Association said.

Vice chairwoman Sharon Taylor said: “It will be our residents who suffer as councils are forced to take tough decisions about which services have to be scaled back or stopped altogether to plug funding gaps over the next few years.”

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Children’s centres, breaks for disabled children and bus subsidies are all under threat, so too funds for theatres, museums, community gyms and projects that encourage people to stop smoking or work to prevent domestic violence.

Local authorities are having to consider raising council tax by the maximum level permitted of 3.99 per cent, including an adult social care premium which would see bills go up by £47 a year for some homes.

The latest funding settlements put thousands of jobs at risk, with the GMB union saying it is dealing with over 25,000 job losses, including 3,000 in Glasgow and a total of 2,540 at councils across Yorkshire.

GMB said 1,000 jobs are under threat at Kirklees Council, 640 at Bradford, 500 at Rotherham and 400 at Sheffield.

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Justin Bowden, GMB national officer, said: “Councils are now making cuts to services they offer the general public like bin collections every three weeks or ending cleaning gullies, as well as severe cuts to services for the elderly and for children. So much for David Cameron’s claim that front-line services would not be cut.”

The unexpectedly deep cuts come as a result of a radical shake-up to how the Government allocates revenue support grant to councils - with this being phased out by the end of the decade.

Some councils fear they face being left unable to meet their legal duties.

Ms Taylor, of the LGA, said: “Councils have been planning for further funding cuts but some will have to find millions of pounds more in savings than they had planned for in even their worst case scenarios. For some, this might push them closer to the financial edge.”

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The Department for Communities and Local Government said the Government is providing a long-term funding settlement for the first time, allowing local authorities to plan with certainty.

“Councils will have almost £200bn to spend on local services, including a £3.5bn social care package, over the lifetime of this parliament,” a spokesman said.

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