Councils Faced With Cutting Services Amid £54 Billion Shortfall, Local Authorities Say

Local councils will be reduced to little more than care service providers, forced to abandon providing other core services, the County Councils Network (CCN) has predicted. The CCN said on Thursday that based on current projections, local authorities in England would experience a cumulative £54 billion shortfall over the space of this Parliament, unless the government provides extra funding or radically rethinks councils’ statutory responsibilities. Councils provide a range of services to people, some of which they are legally obliged to deliver, like children’s services and adult social care. The CCN says that despite yearly council tax rises, local authorities have had to prioritise funding these statutory services and reducing spend on other vital services for residents, such as buses, libraries, and road maintenance....