Two thirds of councils will see cutbacks to local services this year as a consequence of the growing financial pressures facing authorities.
That figure was revealed in a survey conducted by the Local Government Association (LGA), which also showed that 7 in 10 councils are using reserves to set a balanced budget in 2024/25.
The LGA has urged the government to provide further funding to address the “financial crisis”, and said all political parties should “provide manifesto commitments to reform the entire system of funding local government” ahead of the general election.
Although the government provided £600m in extra funding for 2024/25 to help address the situation, 58% of councils surveyed by the LGA said its impact would be “small”.
Some 85% of councils said they would still have to make cost savings to balance their 2024/25 budget. Of respondent councils with social care functions, three-quarters said this would be necessary in their adult social care budget, and 69% reported that savings would be needed in their children’s social care budget.
After the funding announcement, over half (52%) of all respondent councils anticipated having to make cost savings within at least three different neighbourhood services, while 41% expected to make cost savings in four or more services.
Sport and leisure service provision will be severely impacted, with 55% of councils having responsibility for these services saying cost savings would be needed.
Some 48% reported that cost savings would be needed within library services, the same number in their parks and green spaces service provision, and over a third (34%) in their provision of museums, galleries, and theatres.
Shaun Davies, LGA Chair, said: “Extra government funding will help councils this year, but acute funding pressures remain and are forcing many councils to make stark choices about what popular services to cut.
“This will not go unnoticed by our local communities. It means less potholes filled, more streetlights dimmed or turned off, and fewer library or leisure services.
“Without further funding, cost and demand pressures will continue to stretch council budgets to the limit and lead to more of the cherished services our communities rely on every day from having to be drastically scaled back or lost altogether as councils are increasingly forced to do more with less.”
The LGA survey is based on the responses of 96 chief executives at LGA member councils in England ahead the government’s additional funding announcement, and 102 responses to a follow-up survey sent in February 2024 after the announcement.
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