Local authorities’ spending on libraries and tourism has reduced by almost £500m since the onset of austerity, a new analysis by the County Councils Network (CCN) has revealed.
The research has found that in 2010/11 English councils budgeted to spend almost £1.6bn on library services, culture, heritage and tourism. However, authorities’ latest accounts show that £1.1bn was spent on these services in 2023/24, a £470m decrease from 14 years ago.
Library services were the biggest area of cultural spending, with councils in England reducing their expenditure on this service by one quarter – a total of £232.5m since 2010, the analysis highlighted.
According to the CCN, councils have been “unable to avoid” reducing support for the services due to the rising demand for adult and children’s social care and underfunding.
Sam Corcoran, the CCN’s vice chair, said: “This new analysis shows councils have found it extremely hard to avoid significantly reducing their spend on libraries, culture, and tourism since 2010 with funding being prioritised towards statutory and life-critical care services.”
However, the CCN has warned that the demand for care services is showing “no sign of abating”, with member councils forecasting to overspend their 2023/24 budgets by almost £650m. This is in addition to sector wide funding gaps of almost £4bn over the next two years.
With the next general election expected in the second half of 2024, the representative for England’s county councils is calling for the next government to set out a multi-year settlement for local authorities to help relieve the pressure.
Corcoran added: “With councils under perhaps the most significant financial pressure in recent memory, scarce funding will have to be prioritised to addressing overspends in care services but the recent announcement of extra money [£600m] for councils could potentially stave off the most severe reductions.
“Nonetheless, with the costs of care unlikely to abate, in the longer term we need to have a clear discussion with the next government on the extent to which councils can fund library and cultural services with the funding envelope they receive.”
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