Finance bulletin

Welcome to September’s finance bulletin.

I am pleased that the LGA’s Political Groups have made their appointments to our governance structures for 2018/19, and want to welcome all members who have been appointed to the Resources Board for the year ahead. I am also pleased to have been reappointed as Chair. The membership of all our Boards and Committees is now available.

The latest revenue spending statistics, published by MHCLG in August 2018, show the strain that is being placed on local authorities. The figures reveal that overall council spending in 2017/18 was down by £447 million on the previous year. At the same time, the figures show there has been an increase in spending in adult social care (up £434 million) and children’s social care (up £368 million). This shows that councils are increasingly having to divert money from other services to meet an unprecedented surge in services which support people of all ages in need.

Our campaigning work ahead of next year’s Spending Review will focus on the need to tackle the funding gap facing local government, which will reach almost £8 billion by 2025. As part of this, in August we called for the surplus in the Government’s finances to be invested in vital local services that boost economic growth, reduce demand for services and save money for the taxpayer and other parts of the public sector, such as the NHS.

We have also contributed local government’s voice to several important consultations, including writing to the Chair of the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee regarding the re-opened inquiry into the implementation and impact of the Benefit Cap, in order to ensure that a fairer and more effective approach to funding is introduced. We are busy working on our Autumn Budget submission at the moment and will send it to you shortly.

Discussions also continue in preparation for the opening of the Fair Funding Review consultation this autumn, which, alongside the Spending Review due to take place in 2019, will have huge significance for all local authorities.

I am always keen to hear from colleagues across the country about issues you are dealing with in your areas, or if you have views on the work of the Resources Board, so please do not hesitate to get in touch.