Recommendations & Conclusions
15 items
3
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
Government support schemes during the pandemic were not always designed with sufficient knowledge of local government finance or input from the sector. Representatives of the local government sector assert that government departments other than MHCLG did not always engage with the sector during the pandemic sufficiently and consequently were not …
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Government support schemes during the pandemic were not always designed with sufficient knowledge of local government finance or input from the sector. Representatives of the local government sector assert that government departments other than MHCLG did not always engage with the sector during the pandemic sufficiently and consequently were not well informed about the pressures and needs of the sector when designing support schemes. This has resulted in support schemes being designed with too much bureaucracy, a lack of co-ordination, and a focus on speed of delivery that does not always take account of the need for assurance against fraud. These issues place additional burdens on local authorities. For instance, an announcement that business support grants would be simplified came almost one year after they were introduced. The Department recognises that communication with local government is variable across Whitehall. At least one other department has now recognised this itself. The Department for Health and Social Care has identified lessons in relation to adult social care through the work of the Adult Social Care taskforce, including the need to boost its expertise and capacity in relation to social care, and improve local engagement. We are less confident that other departments have recognised the issue. Recommendation: HM Treasury, the Department for Education, the Department of Health & Social Care, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, in co-operation with the Department, should write to us by October 2021 setting how they will improve, and then maintain, their understanding of the operational realities of local government finance and the financial pressures authorities face.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and commits to coordinating a written response by October 2021 from relevant departments, outlining their plans to improve and maintain their understanding of local government finance and pressures.
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HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
The Department’s over-optimism about the impact of the pandemic on local authorities risks leading to reductions in services for local people. The Department is confident about the sector’s stability and sustainability in relation to the immediate and short-term impacts of the pandemic. However, it recognises that there will be financial …
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The Department’s over-optimism about the impact of the pandemic on local authorities risks leading to reductions in services for local people. The Department is confident about the sector’s stability and sustainability in relation to the immediate and short-term impacts of the pandemic. However, it recognises that there will be financial impacts on local authorities. Local government sector representatives are clear that most councils will not be able to manage solely using reserves and will also need to make service cuts in 2021–22. We were told about many councils facing multi-million pound budget reductions due to COVID-19, even after government support. Typical council tax bills will rise by an average of 4.3% across England in 2021–22, meaning that local people could be paying more for less. We have previously found that there is insufficient monitoring of the way that local government financial pressures affect services. Given this, we are not convinced by the Department’s confidence about the sustainability of services. Both the Department and local government representatives recognise that the pandemic will affect the sector’s finances in the short and medium term as they seek to understand the ‘new normal’ for local services. Recommendation: The Department, working with other government departments, should ensure that decision-making about actions to stabilise local government finance is informed by sufficient information about the service implications of current financial pressures. Recommendation: The Department and HM Treasury should ensure that their work for the next Spending Review includes full consideration of the longer-term effects of the pandemic on local government finance and the demands placed on local authorities.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, stating it has already engaged with other departments and established analytical working groups to understand the long-term impacts of COVID-19 for the 2021 Spending Review, and will report back to the Committee in October 2021.
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HM Treasury
7
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
It is unacceptable that local authorities continue to face uncertainty about the level of financial support they can expect from government on top of the other pressures and uncertainty with which they are currently required to cope. The pandemic has created financial uncertainty for local authorities about their future commercial …
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It is unacceptable that local authorities continue to face uncertainty about the level of financial support they can expect from government on top of the other pressures and uncertainty with which they are currently required to cope. The pandemic has created financial uncertainty for local authorities about their future commercial and other income, service needs, ability to make savings, and ability to collect local taxes. Additional uncertainty and late information about government funding on top of this could risk cuts to the services residents and businesses rely on. The Department and HM Treasury recognise the importance of funding certainty and early information to good financial management. Yet neither have committed to improving their current approach in light of recent experience. Local authority public health grant allocations were published by the Department for Health & Social Care in mid-March 2020, after local authorities had set their budgets for 2021–22, and only 15 days before the end of the financial year. We welcome the announcement that the government will take steps to rule out business rates appeals related to changes in circumstances due to the pandemic, removing a source of uncertainty for local authority finances. However, this decision came less than a week before the end of the financial year. Recommendation: HM Treasury, working with the Department and other departments as necessary, should explore ways that the government can give local authorities more financial certainty as they develop their 2022–23 spending plans and write to us with conclusions by June 2021. COVID-19: Local government finance 9 1 Supporting local authority financial sustainability in the first year of the pandemic
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees to explore ways to provide more financial certainty, stating it wrote to the committee on 22 June 2021 and plans to confirm the 2022-23 funding settlement at the 2021 Spending Review, aiming for early financial certainty and timely release of the Local …
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (the Department) and HM Treasury about local government finance in England during the COVID-19 pandemic.1 We also took evidence from the Society of County Treasurers, the …
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On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (the Department) and HM Treasury about local government finance in England during the COVID-19 pandemic.1 We also took evidence from the Society of County Treasurers, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and Manchester City Council.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the committee's introductory conclusion and states it will write to the Committee by the end of 2021 to detail how it is improving its oversight of local government finance to prepare for future emergencies.
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HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
The Department introduced a monthly survey in April 2020 to collect data on the financial pressures faced by local authorities due to the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the majority of its regular financial data sets tended to be collected on an annual basis. The Department told us that the …
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The Department introduced a monthly survey in April 2020 to collect data on the financial pressures faced by local authorities due to the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the majority of its regular financial data sets tended to be collected on an annual basis. The Department told us that the switch to a monthly approach did not necessarily mean there was a problem with the data it collected before, but reflected the unprecedented nature of the challenge faced by the sector. The Department told us that the survey had given it “huge insight” into local authorities’ finances on a more immediate and responsive basis than it would normally have. The survey data was also a valuable source of information for other departments.18 In terms of learning from this experience, the Department recognised that there was a benefit to having more information on the sector over the longer-term, 13 Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Oral evidence: Work of the Department, HC 302, Monday 4 May 2020; Letter to the Secretary of State from the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee requesting further information following his appearance on 4 May, 14 May 2020; Committee of Public Accounts, Oral evidence: Local authority commercial investment, Friday 15 May 2020; Committee of Public Accounts, Oral evidence: Whole of Government Response to COVID-19, HC 404, 15 June 2020; Committee of Public Accounts, Oral evidence: Readying the NHS and social care for the COVID-19 peak, HC 405, 22 June 2020; Committee of Public Accounts, Oral evidence: Progress in Remediating Dangerous Cladding, HC 406, 6 July 2020; Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Oral evidence: Work of the Department, HC 302, 22 July 2020 14 Qq 84–85 15 Q85, 87, 94; C&AG’s Report, paras 2.35–2.36, 4.3 and Figure 7 16 Qq 90, 93–94; C&AG’s Report, para 2.24, 2.31 and Figure 7 17 Qq 87, 90, 94, 120, 123, 135, 139–140, 161; C&AG’s Report, Figure 10 18 Qq 100, 103 and 105; C&AG’s re
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and has launched a review of existing local government finance data collections, with a first steering group meeting in June 2021. The department commits to writing to the Committee by October 2021 to provide an update on the review …
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HM Treasury
10
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
Local authorities need to hold sufficient reserves to deal with known future needs and the financial risks they face. Accordingly, reserve levels are a key measure of the financial sustainability of local authorities over the medium-term.20 As part of its monthly survey the Department collected data on local authorities’ reserves …
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Local authorities need to hold sufficient reserves to deal with known future needs and the financial risks they face. Accordingly, reserve levels are a key measure of the financial sustainability of local authorities over the medium-term.20 As part of its monthly survey the Department collected data on local authorities’ reserves in order to assess the extent to which their reserves were under pressure. To do this the Department did not use the traditional categorisation in which reserves are classed either as allocated (for defined purposes) or unallocated (and therefore available for any purpose). Instead the Department introduced a new, experimental category of “available” reserves. The concept of availability reflects the fact that owing to local authority accounting practices not all an authority’s unallocated reserves are necessarily available, while some of their allocated reserves may be. This means that despite the publication of data on allocated and unallocated reserves it is not possible to identify the level of reserves that an authority actually has available to respond to the pandemic or any other issue. However, the Department told us that it was “not sure that [the collection of this experimental data] has been entirely successful” as 65 authorities simply replied that they did not have reserves available to respond to the pandemic. The Department told us that later in the year, rather than concentrating on reserves it instead focused on the capacity of authorities to set their 2021–22 budgets. It explained that it was reassured by the fact that all authorities either had, or were in the process of, agreeing their 2021–22 budgets.21
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees to collect more detailed information on local authority reserves. It intends to make changes to its revenue and financing collections to require more granular data on earmarked reserves and will consult with stakeholders on these proposed changes, committing to provide an update …
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HM Treasury
11
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
The Department’s monthly survey is an addition to a broader framework of risk monitoring that draws on a range of other information sources.22 Through the use of this framework the Department had placed Croydon Council on its ‘long list’ of councils at financial risk for some years. However, it was …
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The Department’s monthly survey is an addition to a broader framework of risk monitoring that draws on a range of other information sources.22 Through the use of this framework the Department had placed Croydon Council on its ‘long list’ of councils at financial risk for some years. However, it was only in the light of the council’s return to the Department’s monthly survey in April 2020 and subsequent conversations that the Department became fully aware of the scale of the financial challenge faced by the sector.23 The council’s section 151 officer subsequently issued a section 114 notice in October 2020, indicating that the council was at risk of failing to balance its budget, which is unlawful. We challenged the Department on whether it should have taken earlier action in relation to the council. The Department told us that in its view the authority itself was not fully aware of the scale of its own financial pressures for much of 2020, and by extension that the Department could not have been expected to know.24 The Department has agreed £120 million worth of capitalisation directions, which allow local authorities to either borrow or use receipts from the sale of capital assets to support revenue spending, in order to stabilise the council’s finances.25 19 Qq 100 and106 20 C&AG’s Report, paras 3.15, 3.16 and 3.21 21 Q103; C&AG’s Report, paras 3.17 and 3.19 22 Comptroller and Auditor General, Financial sustainability of local authorities 2018, HC 834, Session 2017–2019, 8 March 2018, para 21 23 C&AG’s report, para 3.27 24 Qq 97–98 25 Letter from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government to the Committee of Public Accounts regarding exceptional financial support, dated 17 March 2021. The £120 million comprises £70 million confirmed for 2020–21 and £50 million in principle for 2021–22. COVID-19: Local government finance 13 Designing schemes to support local authorities and their communities during the pandemic
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the implied recommendation to improve engagement with local authorities at risk and states it has already increased its engagement and improved internal risk processes since the pandemic. It notes lessons learned from Croydon Council are reflected in new external assurance reviews …
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HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
We asked representatives of the local government sector how well the Department had engaged with it over the last year. We heard and received evidence praising the quality of the Department’s engagement with the sector during the pandemic. For example, Manchester City Council told us that the Department’s engagement had …
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We asked representatives of the local government sector how well the Department had engaged with it over the last year. We heard and received evidence praising the quality of the Department’s engagement with the sector during the pandemic. For example, Manchester City Council told us that the Department’s engagement had been good both in relation to individual authorities and collectively with the sector as a whole.26 However, the Society of County Treasurers conveyed an equally clear message that the engagement by other government departments was not as good and that other departments had not listened as much to the sector. It suggested that this should be a key lesson the government should learn from the pandemic.27 The Department told us it recognised that communication with local government “is variable across departments” because they differ in their normal exposure to local government, but asserted that increased joint working during the pandemic had strengthened relationships in key areas of public health and social care.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the implied recommendation to improve inter-departmental understanding of local government finance. It commits to working with other departments to achieve this and will coordinate a written response to the Committee by October 2021, detailing how each department plans to improve their …
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HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
The Department highlighted “the excellent work” within the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) as an example of “that deepening of the connection with local government”.28 In June 2020, DHSC created the Social Care Sector COVID-19 Support Taskforce to oversee the delivery of two packages of support for the …
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The Department highlighted “the excellent work” within the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) as an example of “that deepening of the connection with local government”.28 In June 2020, DHSC created the Social Care Sector COVID-19 Support Taskforce to oversee the delivery of two packages of support for the care sector as well as support the government’s work on community outbreaks and consider how to reduce the risk of infection in care homes and the wider social care sector. The Taskforce was chaired by an individual with substantial operational experience as the former President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and drew members from across the sector. In September 2020, the Taskforce published its report setting out progress and learning from the first phase of the pandemic and recommendations to help improve resilience in the sector. As part of this, it recommended that DHSC “significantly boosts its own expertise and capacity in relation to social care”, to continue beyond the pandemic, and used this expertise to link effectively with regional and local structures. This included bringing in senior local authority figures with experience within social care and public health.29
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees, stating it has worked closely with other departments and will coordinate a written response by October 2021 outlining how each department plans to improve and maintain their understanding of the operational realities of local government finance.
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HM Treasury
18
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
In its examinations of the local government sector prior to the pandemic, our previous Committee raised concerns in 2018 that “the Department may not know if pressures in one service area quickly transfer to others or the extent of the risk that this poses to local authorities or service users” …
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In its examinations of the local government sector prior to the pandemic, our previous Committee raised concerns in 2018 that “the Department may not know if pressures in one service area quickly transfer to others or the extent of the risk that this poses to local authorities or service users” due to insufficient data.42 In 2019 we remained similarly concerned that the Department was not fully evidencing financial sustainability using expectations across the full range of local authority services.43 When we asked about the immediate prospects for the sector, the Department told us that the local government finance settlement for 2021–22, which provides authorities with their grant funding levels and other key financial parameters, would allow, “the sector to stabilise and be sustainable.” It also explained that it had a degree of confidence in the sustainability of the sector in relation to the immediate and short-term impacts of the pandemic. The Department told us that it had been clear that “there would be financial impacts on local authorities” but suggested this would not necessarily affect services due to authorities finding efficiencies rather than reducing service provision, and the use of reserves. We asked the Department about the impact of over a decade of financial pressure on the ability of local authorities to make further efficiency savings. The Department responded by saying it recognised the pressures that authorities are managing and had consequently enabled real-terms funding increases in the last few years. It did not provide further explanation of its confidence in authorities’ ability to make widespread efficiencies.44
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and has launched a review of existing local government finance data collections, with a first steering group meeting in June 2021. The department commits to writing to the Committee by October 2021 to provide an update on the review …
Read full response →
HM Treasury
19
Recommendation
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
Manchester City Council told us that government support has not fully mitigated the impact of the pandemic, and the average pressure on next year’s budget is £15 million across the 10 authorities in Greater Manchester and £32 million across the eight core cities.45 In written evidence, SIGOMA told us that …
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Manchester City Council told us that government support has not fully mitigated the impact of the pandemic, and the average pressure on next year’s budget is £15 million across the 10 authorities in Greater Manchester and £32 million across the eight core cities.45 In written evidence, SIGOMA told us that despite government support, member councils would be “assessing the viability” of the services they provide in 2021–22.46 CIPFA noted that in the same financial year, council tax will rise by 4.3% on average, representing a funding gap of £217 million relative to the government’s assumption in the local government finance settlement.47 The Society of County Treasurers explained that “there will be real challenges across the country in balancing the budgets next year” and that it thought this would be “a combination of the use of reserves and having to make cuts in services”.48 An NAO survey found that 81% of respondents from district councils and 94% of respondents from single tier and county councils intended to make savings from service budgets in 2021–22.49 42 Committee of Public Accounts, Financial sustainability of local authorities, Fiftieth report of session 2017–19, HC 970, 4 July 2018 43 Committee of Public Accounts, Local government spending, Seventy-sixth report of session 2017–2019, HC 1775, 6 February 2019 44 Qq 84, 85, 132, 135–138 45 Q 9 46 LGF0007 submission from SIGOMA paragraph 3.6 47 Q13; LGF0010 submission from CIPFA paragraph 3.4 48 Q25 49 C&AG’s Report, para 4.24 COVID-19: Local government finance 17
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, but states it believes its existing £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding and rapid monitoring have realistically assessed and met the sector's pressures, claiming existing resources are sufficient. It will continue its supportive role and report back.
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HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
CIPFA and SOLACE called for a broader review of potential reform options rooted in a deeper understanding of the impact of the pandemic on council tax and business rates, encompassing the government’s promised reforms to adult social care funding, and potentially leading to more radical reforms than current proposals.58 However, …
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CIPFA and SOLACE called for a broader review of potential reform options rooted in a deeper understanding of the impact of the pandemic on council tax and business rates, encompassing the government’s promised reforms to adult social care funding, and potentially leading to more radical reforms than current proposals.58 However, Manchester City Council and the Society of County Treasurers were clear that these reforms should not be rushed. This was both to allow the effects of the pandemic on local government finance to settle down, and also to ensure that sufficient time was available to allow for 50 Qq 125, 132, 141 51 Q1, Q5 52 Qq 145, 159 53 Committee of Public Accounts, Local government spending, Seventy-sixth report of session 2017–2019, HC 1775, 6 February 2019, conclusions 3, 4 and 5 54 Q108; C&AG’s Report, paras 4.28–4.29 55 C&AG’s Report, para 1.6 56 Q43 57 Qq 15, 19, 39; C&AG’s Report, para 12 58 Qq 15, 17, 38 18 COVID-19: Local government finance the creation of substantive and workable reforms. SOLACE also called for stability in any interim period, ideally in the form of a multi-year settlement, while a new system is designed.59 The Department told us that it will set out its plans for taking reform forward before the end of this calendar year. However, it was clear that there was a “big suite of moving parts” involving other departments such as HM Treasury’s review of business rates, and the Department of Health and Social Care’s plans for social care. Nonetheless, the Department committed to reflecting on the messages from the sector “which is first, […] ‘Do not rush,’ and secondly, ‘Please make sure it is fit for purpose.’”60 Financial uncertainty for local authorities
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees to set out the future plan for local government funding at the 2021 Spending Review, stating it will take stock of the pandemic's impact on local authority resources and service pressures in its determination.
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
Local authority representatives told us about the unprecedented level of financial uncertainty they have faced and continue to face as a result of the pandemic.61 Manchester City Council said that the impact on local authority commercial income, which does not attract any government support, was beyond what could “have reasonably …
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Local authority representatives told us about the unprecedented level of financial uncertainty they have faced and continue to face as a result of the pandemic.61 Manchester City Council said that the impact on local authority commercial income, which does not attract any government support, was beyond what could “have reasonably been planned for or fully mitigated in the budget and reserves”.62 DCN similarly told us that councils faced significant uncertainties on the income they will receive from business rates and council tax. It explained that the long-term impact of the pandemic on business was still to be seen and increasing numbers of households were seeking support with council tax.63 Business failures can reduce authority business rates income, for example if properties become vacant.64 If a household receives council tax support, then the council tax income received by the authority is reduced by up to 100% .65 SIGOMA stressed that council 2020–21 budgets and plans included changes to increase efficiency which would have delivered savings into 2021–22 and beyond. These changes, and so these savings, may now not be possible.66 Manchester City Council told us that the pandemic had created pressures in its services due to ongoing demand for homelessness, adult social care and children’s services. CIPFA, SOLACE and Manchester City Council suggested that public expectations of some local authority services, such as libraries, parks and open spaces, may well have also increased.67
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the need for earlier financial certainty, committing to confirm the 2022-23 funding settlement at the 2021 Spending Review and ensuring the Local Government Finance Settlement is timed for local authorities to confirm budgets ahead of the financial year.
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HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
Representatives of the local government sector told us that the way in which government support had been designed or announced has also created or perpetuated uncertainty. SIGOMA explained that “2020–21 has been a year of month to month existence with incremental and mostly reactive funding without which all of our …
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Representatives of the local government sector told us that the way in which government support had been designed or announced has also created or perpetuated uncertainty. SIGOMA explained that “2020–21 has been a year of month to month existence with incremental and mostly reactive funding without which all of our members would have failed”.68 The LGA highlighted that councils were receiving more funding through specific grants accessed by making bids in competition with other councils; while CIPFA observed that “this preponderance of bids [as a basis for funding decisions] is making life even more uncertain”.69 We also heard about delayed or late announcements of the details of funding, leaving local authorities in uncertainty, for example the date of 59 Qq 38–43 60 Qq 143–144 61 LGF0001 submission from LGA page 2, LGF0008 submission from Surrey CC paragraphs 7–9 62 Q6 63 LGF0003 submission from DCN paragraph 20; C&AG’s Report, paras 4.4–4.5 64 Business rates relief – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 65 Apply for Council Tax Reduction – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 66 LGF0007 submission from SIGOMA paragraph 4.3; C&AG’s Report, 1.16 67 Qq 9, 13, 14, 16, 39 68 LGF0007 submission from SIGOMA paragraph 4.1; also Q4 69 LGF0001 submission from LGA page 2; Fragmented Funding – report | Local Government Association; Q15 COVID-19: Local government finance 19 the local government provisional finance settlement or of public health allocations.70 For local authorities the financial year 2021–22 starts on 1 April 2021, and local authorities were legally required to set their budgets and council tax levels for 2021–22 by either 1 March 2021 (precepting authorities) or 11 March 2021 (billing authorities).71 Local authority public health grant allocations for 2021–22 were published on 16 March 2021, so authorities were required to set their budgets for that year without full knowledge of their funding.72 We received evidence from DCN expressing concern that business rates appeals related to changes i
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the need for earlier financial certainty, committing to confirm the 2022-23 funding settlement at the 2021 Spending Review and ensuring the Local Government Finance Settlement is timed for local authorities to confirm budgets ahead of the financial year.
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HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
Fourth Report - COVID-19: Local governm…
Accepted
We received written evidence from SOLACE, which told us that “one-year financial settlements, which are delivered late in the budget planning cycle, presents risks and can result in very damaging cuts to services residents and businesses rely on.” Similarly, CIPFA argued that delayed or incomplete information from government adds to …
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We received written evidence from SOLACE, which told us that “one-year financial settlements, which are delivered late in the budget planning cycle, presents risks and can result in very damaging cuts to services residents and businesses rely on.” Similarly, CIPFA argued that delayed or incomplete information from government adds to the complexity of financial planning and leads to increased financial instability and may result in service reduction. SIGOMA similarly emphasised that without certainty, councils “cannot plan a future service structure that fits within a known, sustainable funding envelope”.75 The provisional local government finance settlement for 2021–22 was published on 17 December 2020 and Manchester City Council stressed the need for earlier information next year, citing that not having certainty on funding for 2022–23 until December was going to be “incredibly difficult to manage”.76
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the need for earlier financial certainty, committing to confirm the 2022-23 funding settlement at the 2021 Spending Review and ensuring the Local Government Finance Settlement is timed for local authorities to confirm budgets ahead of the financial year.
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HM Treasury