Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 17 November 2022.

Today the Chancellor has unveiled his Autumn Statement, which contained the announcement that the devolution deal in Suffolk is complete, with those in Cornwall and Norfolk close to completion.

When completed, these devolution deals will be the first of their kind, with these county authorities being the first to adopt directly elected leadership models of upper-tier councils, without a combined authority.

Separately, the Government has laid an amendment to Clause 16 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to ensure that the powers and functions that a new Combined County Authority (CCA) can only be those derived from upper-tier councils, or district councils where they choose to exercise powers jointly.

Below, the CCN responds to today’s announcements.

Cllr Martin Hill, Devolution Spokesperson of the County Councils Network, said:

“The announcement today that the devolution deal is Suffolk is complete, with those in Cornwall and Norfolk close to completion is another milestone in the county devolution agenda. All three agreements could be genuinely transformative for their local areas, with the Suffolk devolution deal the first of its kind in putting forward a directly elected county leadership model.

“In all of these areas, as well as the previously agreed deals with Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and North Yorkshire, county authorities have shown flexibility and a willingness to meet government halfway in considering to adopt a mayor or a directly-elected leader. We know how transformative county devolution can be, and we are urging government to go further and faster – turbocharging devolution so at least two-thirds of County Councils Network members have begun discussions, at least, by 2025.

“Separately, the government has laid an amendment to Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill to ensure that the powers and functions that a new Combined County Authority (CCA) can only be those derived from upper-tier councils, or district councils where they choose to exercise powers jointly.

“Earlier this year, ministers reassured all parts of the sector that the intention behind Clause 16 was never to unilaterally strip any councils of their powers, and today’s amendment, which we will support, confirms there is no intention of using this new legislation to force reallocation of functions between tiers of local government.

“It is imperative, however, that the government now progress the Bill as soon as possible and ensure that no further changes are made to the legislation on CCAs, including constitute membership. The upper-tier CCA provides a far more suitable governance model for complex county areas, with the ability for county and unitary authorities to work closely with district councils in their area.”

The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 17 November 2022.

Today the Chancellor has unveiled his Autumn Statement, which confirmed that the government is to delay forthcoming adult social care reforms and will provide an uplift in funding for care services.
This package includes £1bn grant funding for social care in 2023/24, and a further £1.7bn in 2024/25, in addition to postponing the social care reforms until October 2025, which is a two year delay.

The breakdown of social care funding, which also incorporates re-prioritising funding set aside for the reforms and extra council tax flexibility, is below:

£600 million will be distributed in 2023-24 and £1 billion in 2024-25 through the Better Care Fund to get people out of hospital on time into care settings, freeing up NHS beds for those that need them Autumn Statement 2022 27
£1.3 billion in 2023-24 and £1.9 billion in 2024-25 will be distributed to local authorities through the Social Care Grant for adult and children’s social care
£400 million in 2023-24 and £680 million in 2024-25 will be distributed through a grant ringfenced for adult social care which will also help to support discharge
CCN had led calls for social care reforms to be delayed because of intense pressures on services – and for funding earmarked for the changes to be re-prioritised to frontline care services.

Below, the CCN responds to today’s announcements.

Cllr Tim Oliver, Chairman of the County Councils Network, said:

“The County Councils Network has been clear that its member councils face unsustainable pressures: with inflation and demand adding £3.5bn to their costs, we have called on the government to postpone the forthcoming adult social care reforms so funding earmarked for those changes can be reinvested in into stabilising care services that are creaking at the seams, as well as further support for vital services.

“Today’s confirmation that these reforms for adult social care will be delayed is a brave decision but completely the right one. We understand that many will be disappointed but postponing these reforms and reinvesting significant additional funding into frontline care services is strongly welcomed and will protect the most vulnerable in our society as well as buy councils vital time to stabilise the care system. This will go a long way to enable us to address existing pressures, commission more care packages, and ensure that the reforms are a success on day one of their introduction in 2025. The government must ensure that as much of this additional funding as possible is distributed directly to councils, who will work tirelessly with their health partners to speed up hospital discharge.

We understand the financial climate the Chancellor has made today’s decisions in, and the outcome is better than envisioned a few weeks ago – with councils spared any further reductions over the next two years and seeing a rise in funding due to the additional resources for social care and extra flexibilities on council tax. We also strongly welcome the extension of the Household Support Fund for councils, which will allow our members to provide more support to families through the cost of living crisis.

“However, while today’s announcements help meet inflationary and social care pressures, councils still face very difficult decisions over the next two years, with little resource available for local leaders to protect non-care services and deliver improvements to vital services. In addition, some county leaders may be reluctant to levy a 5% council tax increase during a cost-of-living crisis considering ratepayers in county areas currently pay the highest bills on average.

“Looking ahead, a reduction in planned funding growth from 2025 could be extremely difficult for local services, which are already under immense pressure. Unless government addresses inflation next year, and the economy picks up before 2025, councils’ funding shortfall will grow year-on-year and become unsustainable.”

The press release issued by the County Councils Network on 11 November 2022.

Only one in five of England’s largest councils are confident they can meet their legal obligation of setting a balanced budget next year, with a new survey revealing the extent of planned service reductions due to soaring inflationary pressures.
Council leaders warn that ‘everything is on the table’ in reducing local services if the Chancellor does not spare councils from further cuts and provide more funding for local government in Thursday’s Autumn Statement as they grapple with £3.5bn of additional costs this year and next.

The survey, carried out by the County Councils Network (CCN), finds that in order to make up the shortfall and stave off bankruptcy councils are likely to have to reduce economic growth projects, their spend on climate action, and reduce adult social care packages and support for young people. They are also likely to reduce other essential everyday services such as bus route subsidies, waste centres and streetlighting. This comes off the back of councils seeing a reduction in spend each year between 2010 and 2018.

The survey, which received a 90% response rate, asked councils about the impact inflation and demand were having on their budgets over the next two years and reveals:

• Only one in five (22%) of councils are confident of preventing financial insolvency next year if there is no additional support in the upcoming Autumn Statement. Councils are legally obliged to set a balanced budget, unlike the NHS, meaning they must use their reserves or cut services if spending exceeds their funding.
• This is because councils are grappling with £3.5bn of additional costs this year and next due to inflation and rising demand; more than double the expected rise. Even if local authorities raised council tax by 3% and the Chancellor does not reduce their budgets further, those councils face a funding gap of £821m. In addition they face £700m of extra costs for their capital expenditure over this year and next, which is for one-off projects such as new buildings and roads.
• At a time when economic growth and levelling-up is a key aim of the new government, councils say they will have little choice but to cut back on growth-related activity. Almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents said it was ‘likely or very likely’ that they will pause or cancel some economic growth and major road projects as well as routine road maintenance, whilst 81% said it was ‘likely or very likely’ they would have to pause or cancel projects such as building new leisure centres and bus or train station improvements. In addition, 78% said it was ‘likely or very likely’ they would have to scale back climate change action.
• Services for the elderly, vulnerable people and children could be scaled back. In total, 72% of councils said it is ‘likely or very likely’ they would tighten eligibility for adult social care services, and 56% said they would likely have to reduce reablement and community-based adult social care services. In addition, 63% would scale back school transport services, with almost half – 44% – councils said it is ‘likely or very likely’ they would have to cut support packages to young people with special educational needs, with 45% reducing the number of children’s centres and youth services.
• Highly valued everyday services would also see reductions, unless further funding is made available. In total, 75% of respondents said it was ‘likely or very likely’ they would cut some or all bus route subsidies which enables services to run on uncommercial routes. Almost two thirds – 63% – said it was ‘likely or very likely’ they would turn off an increased amount of streetlights or turn them off at certain periods in the night. Over half (56%) of councils also said they would likely reduce the number of libraries and (53%) household waste recycling centres or cut their opening hours

The release of today’s questionnaire follows CCN publishing a document with the Society of County Treasurers and LG Futures last month, which projected councils’ funding pressures over the next 18 months due to inflation and demand. You can download it here.

With inflation soaring this current year, significant shortfalls have opened up in every single county authority’s budget. To address this, CCN members are using their reserves this year but these can only be spent once and are viewed as a very short-term solution.

The CCN says that many of its councils are facing a ‘cliff edge’ where even making substantive cuts to frontline and highly-valued services may not be enough to prevent them from issuing a Section 114 notice. For all of its member councils, difficult decisions over what services to reduce will have to be made with many likely to offer just the bare minimum in local services.

The CCN has written to the Chancellor to outline the scale of the challenge facing its members, which calls on the Treasury to maintain existing 2021 Spending Review commitments for local government at the very minimum, and not propose any reductions. However, the councils say that the government needs to go further to support councils to cope with rising inflationary costs by increasing direct funding or reprioritising existing spending commitments.

Cllr Sam Corcoran, Labour Vice-Chairman of the County Councils Network said:

“The next two years are shaping up to be some of the most challenging for councils in recent memory. After a decade of austerity and with inflation soaring, if the Chancellor does not spare councils from further cuts and provide more funding for local authorities, everything is on the table when considering which vital services to cut.

“This County Councils Network budget survey paints a clear picture of what will happen if we do not receive more funding to address inflationary and demand pressures. Councils will have little choice but to reduce vital everyday services and those for the most vulnerable in society, as well as economic growth projects and those aimed at tackling climate change. Reducing these all create a false economy that stores up problems for the future.

“Even these decisions will not be enough, with less than one in five councils confident of setting a balanced budget next year without further support. This is why it is vital that the government recognise the value in supporting councils – with investment in local government allowing us to continue vital economic growth and climate action, supporting people to stay outside of hospital settings, and provide vital services people rely on every day.”