City authorities will prioritise service redesign and using financial reserves to address the ongoing financial crisis in municipal government, according to the Key Cities network.
In a survey of the council leaders of Key Cities’ 24 member cities across England and Wales, those were the top answers – ahead of asset sales and cutting non-statutory services – in response to the question ‘what measures are you prioritising to avoid financial difficulties in the next twelve months?’.
Three in five (60%) city leaders highlighted service redesign and utilising financial reserves as their highest priority for the coming twelve months. Two in five (40%) also pointed to selling off council assets and reducing non-statutory services as their priority. One in five (20%) identified redundancies and salary reductions as a priority.
The survey also found that most authorities that are part of the Key Cities network and who are not already part of mayoral combined authorities do not see devolution as an appropriate model for them.
A third of leaders do not wish to see the introduction of a mayoral combined authority in their area, as per the current and previous government’s approach to devolution. Leaders gave a variety of reasons why, including: perceived difficulty in getting separate local authorities to agree to an elected mayor; concerns around loss of political influence; and a lack of clarity on the benefits that the mayoral approach will bring.
Only a quarter of those who are not already part of a combined authority would like to move to that model of local government, according to the survey.
Turning to priorities for funding allocations across the UK following the change in administration, over half (53.3%) of the respondents believe that an increase in central government grant funding should be the main priority for the next twelve months, in relation to local government.
A third of the survey respondents said that net zero should be made statutory, followed by economic development (26.7%) and leisure and sport (20%).
The top three most significant financial pressure points facing these authorities over the next twelve months are adult social care, at 33.3%, children’s social care, at 26.7%, and homelessness, at 26.7%.
John Merry, chair of Key Cities and deputy mayor of Salford City Council, said the city authorities were facing “stark” realities.
“Difficult decisions still need to be taken simply to deliver regular services. It gives me no pleasure to see so many colleagues considering the sale of assets and redundances and relying on dwindling financial reserves, among other measures, to stay financially afloat,” he commented.
“As we are working under no illusions but with a renewed sense of collaboration and direction, I can understand our collective optimism and enthusiasm. Together, with support from central government, we can work out the solutions best tailored for each city to achieve nationwide resilience and prosperity.
“As we set out to achieve this, it is important to remember that each city represents varying geographical sizes, characteristics and spending priorities. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to devolution where more bespoke approaches may be required.”
Merry has written on behalf of the network to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and minister for democracy and local growth Alex Norris to urge the government to prioritise the issues highlighted in survey “in order to protect local services and create the conditions for sustainable growth”, while calling for support and a collaborative approach to working together.
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