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Councils continue to face huge uncertainty about how they will pay for local services into the next decade and beyond.

Ahead of the Budget, the LGA has made the case for government to address the cost and demand pressures, which have pushed many councils towards the financial edge.

Councils in England have seen their core funding from central government reduce by £15 billion in the last decade. In recent years, they have seen a rise in the number of short-term, ringfenced, small grants they receive annually from government departments and agencies.

One in four councils in England say they are likely to have to apply for emergency government bailout agreements to stave off bankruptcy in the next two financial years (2025/26 and 2026/27), a stark new survey by the LGA reveals today.

Cllr Claire Kober, Chair of the Local Government Association's Resources Board, responded to the announcement in the Spring Budget that councils will receive £300 million to provide discretionary business rates relief

"Urgent clarity is needed on how the Government’s fundamental review of business rates will impact on reforms to allow local government to keep more of business rates income collected locally from next year."

Councils across the country are leading local efforts to support communities through the coronavirus crisis and keep day-to-day services running. This has led to significant unforeseen demands and costs caused by the pandemic – to protect the vulnerable such as older, disabled and homeless people - and in order to continue to keep normal services running, such as bin collections. This is at the same time as councils have seen a large and immediate hit to their income. Many councils use income from fees and charges to fund a range of services, such as leisure and planning services, many of

"These measures will help councils with their cash-flow as they grapple with extra costs, lost income, and demand pressures as a result of the pandemic."

“We are pleased that councils will now be able to provide much-needed support to many households on the lowest incomes by quickly reducing or removing the need for them to pay council tax."

"Inflation is not going to come down overnight; reserves can only be spent once; a local service cannot be cut twice."