Councils 'to remain poorer than in 2010 despite funding boosts'

Councils in England will be poorer by the end of this parliament than they were in 2010 despite Labour's funding increases, according to analysis by the Institute for Government (IfG).

- Kiran Stacey Patrick Butler Jessica Murray

Funding cuts from 2010 to 2019 were so severe that they left gaps that could not be filled even by five years of above-inflation increases, leaving local authorities increasingly reliant on emergency funding and capable of providing only legally mandated services, the report shows.

The government increased local authority funding in real terms by more than 4% this year, according to the IfG, and has promised an increase of more than 1% each year for the next three years. However, the report suggests the damage done by years of cuts is so severe that many people will not notice any difference to their local services.

Stuart Hoddinott, the author of the report, said: “Most public services struggled when spending was cut during the early 2010s, but few as much as local government. Cuts were so deep that, even with sustained increases throughout the 2020s, funding is still due to be lower in real terms in 2028-29 than it was almost two decades earlier.”