Agenda item

Local Government Finance Update

Bevis Ingram, Senior Adviser, summarised the LGA’s response to the Spending Review/Local Government Finance Settlement. He advised the board that analysis on the impact of this had been carried out and that a response had been submitted to the Department of Communities and Local Government.

In the discussion which followed, board members made the following points:

·         There was a tendency to see the present time as year 0, when in fact this was the sixth year of local government spending cuts.

·         Some members felt the term flat cash was misleading, as it suggested the government was giving local government more money. Members requested that the LGA take this into consideration.

·         It was felt that raising council tax by 2% would not be enough to help address rising adult social care costs.

·         There needed to be a focus on the formula for business rates that the Communities Secretary had requested and ensure that this would work for local government. It was important to make this work for the future and come up with a single voice in this area.

·         It was argued that a fair system needed to have an element of redistribution in it, a definition of what needed to be spent and an understanding of a council’s ability to raise funds. Although a 2% rise in council tax would be quite significant for the shire counties, it was important not to underestimate how difficult it was going to be in some areas. More work needed to be undertaken in this area.

Decisions:

The City Regions Board:

1.    Noted the update.