Hard-pressed councils, who have faced more than a decade of budget cuts, are staring at even harsher times ahead over the next few years. A new survey has revealed that the Tory government’s spending plans from April 2025 onwards – which Labour have also committed to – will likely mean that services will be performing worse in 2027/28 than on the eve of the pandemic.
South Tyneside Borough Council is typical of the challenges councils have faced since austerity kicked in. It is making savings of £3.7m in 2023/24, bringing the total amount of cuts to £190m since 2010. Like councils around the country, vital local services have suffered as spending cuts have been passed on to hard-pressed communities.
Unlike central government, by law councils have to balance the books each year and cannot carry over a spending deficit. According to a BBC investigation, the average council now faces a £33m predicted deficit by 2025-26 - a rise of 60% from two years ago. Unison, the public service union, said the situation meant some councils would not be able to offer the ‘legal minimum of care’ next year.
The survey revealed councils expect to be £5.2bn short of balancing the books by April 2026 even after making £2.5bn of planned cuts. At least £467m will be stripped from adult care services, which include elderly care homes, respite centres and support services for people with disabilities. Unison's head of local government Mike Short said town halls were in the ‘direst of states’. He added: ‘This is not a sustainable situation. Local authorities simply don't have the funds to provide even statutory services.’
Gateshead Council recently closed a leisure centre, which had more than 480,000 visits a year. A community bid is trying to raise £40,000 and take over the site. ‘Everyone is just horrified it's actually come to this’ said mental health worker Layla Barclay who led the campaign to keep it open. ‘There is a lot of anger towards the council. We just feel that they didn't come to the community until it was too late.’ A number of councils have actually run out of money. They include Slough, Croydon and Birmingham, which is now run by government commissioners who are making cuts in services. Thurrock declared bankruptcy in December 2022 after a series of failed solar farm investments saw the council run up a £500m deficit - one of the largest ever reported for a council of its size.
The question is: what can local communities do to halt the wrecking of local services? They could campaign to demand councillors actually resist spending cuts instead of just passing them on while wringing their hands. STC, for example, should mobilise the community by calling assemblies and meetings to demand more money from
central government. Assemblies could link up with other campaigns in the region.
Coming on top of the cost-of-living crisis, more cuts in services are unacceptable. Enough is enough!
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