LGIU Response: Budget 2025

Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), said: 

“There was little in this Budget to address the immediate risks facing local government: SEND, temporary accommodation, adult social care. But it did reveal something about the government’s underlying attitude toward councils.

Pots of money handed out to individual areas will, of course, be welcome — and we know that councils will use every pound to great effect. But these one-off allocations are no substitute for a fair, sustainable funding system that genuinely empowers local government.

It’s right that local areas should be able to decide whether a tourist tax is right for them. But why should this be limited to mayors? Why not trust local leaders and councils? Why not bring it nearer to communities?

Most telling of all is the introduction of an additional levy on council tax — money that won’t support cash-strapped councils but will instead go straight back to Whitehall not the town hall.

There has always been a tension between councils as sovereign, democratically elected bodies and as delivery agents for central government policy.

This Budget treats councils as tax collectors for Whitehall: taking all of the political heat but getting none of the benefit.

This government came to power promising devolution, localism and community empowerment. Based on this budget, that’s still work in progress.”