Saving Local Government Finance: reflections from the LGIU member Summit

While the King was announcing the government’s legislative agenda, we were less than a mile away, with our first – and hopefully last – summit on saving local government finance. More than 60 leading local government figures and academics from across the country joined us to talk about where local government finance is now, and what the government needs to do to prevent outright catastrophe.

It is difficult to summarise the extraordinary range of topics we covered over the day, but we can say, at least, that the sector is virtually united in its diagnosis of the problem – local government funding is in crisis. There was also consensus over the first steps the government needs to take to stabilise council finances, increase devolution, and implement a sustainable funding system.

There are priorities we need to think about, between what needs to happen now and what needs to happen in the long term, how we recognise the diversity of local government while ensuring high-quality service provision across the country, and whether we need to focus not only on funding reform but also rethinking how we provide public services more generally.

The discussions at this summit will be fed back to the government, and the sector, speaking with one voice, will ensure that central government recognises both what local government needs, and what we can offer.

Photography by Charlie Burgio