The Liberal Democrats have pledged to support local government through “difficult” financial times, including by providing multi-year settlements.
The party’s newly-launched manifesto states that the current government “is robbing local communities of their powers and their resources”, forcing councils “to do more and more with less and less, plunging many into financial crisis”.
The manifesto states that the Liberal Democrats will review the “burdens and costs that councils have shouldered as a result of Conservative government policies”.
This includes “tackling the social care funding crisis, giving councils the freedom to set planning fees to reflect the actual cost of delivering an efficient planning service, and building more homes to relieve the soaring demand for temporary accommodation”.
The party pledged to tackle the funding crisis facing local authorities, and said it would provide multi-year funding settlements, boost the supply of social housing, and forge “a long-term, cross-party agreement” on social care.
The Liberal Democrats also said they would end the “top-down reorganisation” of councils and the “imposition of elected mayors on communities who do not want them”.
The party also pledged to “decentralise decision-making from Whitehall and Westminster by inviting local areas to take control of the services that matter to them most”.
In proposed measures that would give local authorities the power to “control second homes and short-term lets in their areas”, councils would be allowed to increase council tax by up to 500% where homes are being bought as second homes, with a stamp duty surcharge on overseas residents purchasing such properties.
Local planning departments would also be “properly funded” to give local authorities the powers to end Right to Buy in their areas.
The manifesto also pledges investment in leisure centres, swimming pools and other grassroots facilities, and support for community sports clubs.
See Room151’s Municipal Missions Manifesto series for articles from local government sector voices on resetting the relationship between national and local government under the next administration. All articles in the series so far can be viewed here.
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