Save local services

The future financial sustainability of councils is on a cliff-edge. Without Government action, they will have no choice but to significantly cut the local services our communities – and economy – rely on.

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Local government is the fabric of our country. It provides more than 800 services and positively impacts the daily life of every person in every community. 

However, the future financial sustainability of councils is on a cliff-edge, and the scale of the pressures cannot be met by reducing costs, making efficiencies or raising council tax.

Many now face the prospect of having to make severe cutbacks to local services. This would not only damage our communities but massively undermine Government ambitions to boost economic growth, level up the country and help residents through the cost of living crisis.

We need a long-term plan from Government

Inflation is not going to come down overnight. Reserves can only be spent once. A local service cannot be cut twice.

To save the local services we all rely on, councils need adequate funding, in line with inflation and the demand for services, and certainty to plan their budgets to minimise service disruption.

If you want to get involved in the save local services campaign, please email LGA’s Marketing Content Manager, Anna Morrell, on [email protected] 


Media and briefings

Media releases and coverage

LGA statement on Budget 2023
15 March 2023

Local Government Finance Settlement: LGA statement 
6 February 2023

Letter from the LGA to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
1 February 2023

LGA responds to provisional Local Government Finance Settlement
19 December 2022

New Statesman: Cash-strapped councils “not out of the woods” after Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement
22 November 2022

The Guardian: Bigger council tax rises will not prevent more cuts to services, councils say
18 November 2022

Mirror: Council tax would need to rise 20 per cent to plug huge funding hole, Rishi Sunak told
16 November 2022

Chancellor must act to protect local services from threat of spiralling costs
16 November 2022

LGA responds to Autumn Statement
14 November 2022

iNews: Autumn Statement predictions: What we know so far about Jeremy Hunt’s plans, from tax rises to spending cuts
13 November 2022

BBC News Online: Decisions on spending cuts and tax rises are sober, officials say
28 October 2022

Guardian: UK councils slashing services to meet £3.2bn budget shortfall
28 October 2022

Cllr Jamieson on BBC Politics East (11.50)
23 October 2022

LGA responds to IFS report on Levelling Up funding
20 October 2022

Council cost pressures – a comment piece by Cllr James Jamieson 
18 October 2022

LGA Politics Home comment piece from Chairman Cllr James Jamieson: Councils will be forced to cut services without certainty over funding
11 October 2022

Guardian: Unfunded tax cuts mean UK ‘will need £60bn spending cuts’
11 October 2022

Councils respond to Energy Bill Relief Scheme
21 September 2022

Briefings

Spring Budget 2023: On-the-Day Briefing
15 March 2023

Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2023/24, House of Commons
8 February 2023

Autumn Statement 2022: LGA briefing 
18 November 2022

Response to DLUHC consultation on statutory override for infrastructure assets accounting
7 November 2022

LGA Submission: Government's Medium-Term Fiscal Plan
14 October 2022

Digitalising Business Rates - connecting business rates and tax data, September 2022 
28 September 2022

Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2022/23, House of Commons
9 February 2022