Half of local authorities believe that Brexit will impact on the amount of funding they receive, according to a survey.
The finding is included in consulting firm PwC’s 2019 annual local government survey, The Local State We’re In.
When asked which areas respondents thought would be most likely to be impacted by Brexit, the top answer was international trade of businesses in their area (55%), followed by the funding councils receive (50%), foreign direct investment into their area (45%), and revenue from business rates and other local taxes (44%).
The survey also found that just 53% of councils are confident that they can deliver savings next year without impacting on the quality of service or outcomes, down from 72% last year.
Only 33% are confident they can make the savings needed in the next five years, with 93% saying they expect some councils to face serious financial crisis over the period.
While eight out of ten councils were confident about their financial management capabilities, only six in ten were confident about their transformation capabilities, the report said.
