Vital public services such as social care for the elderly could crumble unless local authorities get more control over their spending, a report warns.
In research published on Wednesday, the Independent Commission on
Local Government Finance (ICLG) said UK local authorities require
“urgent devolution of powers, funding and taxes.”
It stressed councils are on a “cliff edge” as a result
of crippling government cuts, adding essential public services
are threatened extinction.
The Commission, consisting of economists, public service and
finance experts, was founded by Britain’s Local Government
Association (LGA) and the Charted Institute for Public Finance
(Cipfa).
In its report, the group predicted further cuts to councils’
already beleaguered budgets in the next Parliament. Among the
public services expected to be hit are policing, fire services,
children’s social care and culture.
England’s councils are on a cuts ‘cliff-edge’, the Independent
Commission on Local Government Finance has said http://t.co/I7tUauAOSJ
— PoliticsHome (@politicshome) February
18, 2015
The Commission’s research says many services offered by local
authorities will cease to exist if councils are “not given
the freedom to determine their own priorities and how they pay
for them.”
It recommends a decade-long process of reforms.
Among the measures proposed are increased council control of
spending on housing, social care and employment, and freedom for
local authorities to allocate the precise value of council tax
bands.
The report also calls for council tax referendums to be scrapped.
At present, local authorities can’t raise council tax by certain
degrees unless they hold a public vote.
The Commission’s research suggests local authorities should
retain 100 percent of the business rates they collect, and calls
for funding allocations that span several years to help councils
in long-term planning.
Report now out from Independent Commission on Local Government
Finance re: financing English #devolutionhttp://t.co/axcQgJXsja
— Cratus Ltd. (@CratusComm) February
18, 2015
Commission chair Darra Singh stresses council services in Britain
are in crisis.
“Nowhere is this more evident than with adult social care,
which is facing financial crisis with minimal scope for further
efficiencies,” he said.
Local government minister Kris Hopkins said there is scope for
enhancing councils’ spending autonomy.
“There is certainly scope for decentralizing more funding to
councils, by extending the successful introduction of incentives
like local business rates retention and the New Homes
Bonus,” he told the BBC.
Hopkins defended Britain’s council tax referendum system,
insisting it has a lot of public support. He said councils should
refrain from devising new methods to tax citizens and instead
freeze current council tax rates.
Scotland’s independence referendum last September intensified
calls for English devolution. As a result, increasing numbers of
councilors and mayors across the UK are calling for more powers
in the face of dwindling funding.