The County Councils Network has urged new prime minster Boris Johnson to address the local authority funding crisis.
Speaking after the former London mayor won the Conservative Party leadership contest this week, David Williams, chairman-elect of the County Councils Network and leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said: it was “heartening” that someone with a background of working in local government was taking over.
He said: “Whilst Brexit will clearly be the number one priority for the new government, we urge the new prime minster to make local government funding his immediate domestic priority. Local authorities face a funding black hole of £51.8bn over the next six years.
“After nine years of austerity where councils have done more than any other part of the public sector to restore the finances of this country, the elastic can be stretched no further.”
Williams also called on the new government to make a cast-iron commitment to implementing the Fair Funding Review.
He said: “Whilst a one-year delay in implementing the review may be inevitable owing to the extenuating national circumstances, there is an imperative to finalise the proposals and addressing the funding inequities between rural and urban areas.”
