The LGA's media office provides the national voice of local government in England and Wales on the major issues of the day for national, regional and local press.
LGA media release 8 July 2015
Responding to the Chancellor's Summer Budget today, Cllr Gary Porter, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:
"It is right that the Chancellor has not used his Summer Budget to further reduce in-year local government funding. Councils already have to find £2.5 billion in savings this financial year and these are proving the most difficult savings to find yet.
"Councils will now be looking to the Spending Review in the autumn which will decide the future of our public services over the next decade.
"It is likely to see councils continue to
"Buses provide a vital service for our communities and a lifeline for our most vulnerable residents to go shopping, pick up medication, attend doctor appointments or socialise with friends. Councils know how important buses are for their residents and local economies and are desperate to protect them."
The amount of people using buses in England each year has fallen to its lowest level in a decade – down to 4.38 billion passenger journeys across the country in 2016/17.
"Councils in England face an overall funding gap that is expected to exceed £5 billion 2020. Faced with ongoing and significant funding pressures, the LGA said councils will struggle to maintain current subsidies for bus routes across the country."
Cllr Richard Watts, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Resources Board, responds to the Public Accounts Committee report on the financial sustainability of local authorities.
"Those affected will be pleased that the Government is taking steps to address this issue next year. The LGA will be encouraging all our member councils to respond to this consultation. "
The Local Government Association has today launched a nationwide consultation to kick-start a desperately-needed debate on how to pay for adult social care and rescue the services caring for older and disabled people from collapse.
Local government in England faces an overall funding gap of almost £8 billion by 2025. As these figures show, councils are increasingly having to divert money from other services to meet an unprecedented surge in demand for children’s and adult social care.