On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
Local government continues to lead the way in the public sector to improve outcomes for people while making savings for the public purse. The LGA’s Productivity Experts Programme forms part of our sector-led improvement (SLI) offer. Since 2012, we have worked with over 174 councils contributing to £194 million worth of savings and income generation.
Nationally prescribed permitted development rights disempower communities and local councils. The approach inhibits local government’s ability to make decisions on behalf of their communities based on their local knowledge and evidence.
Councils will face an overall funding gap of £3.1 billion in 2019/20, which we estimate will rise to £8 billion by 2024/25. The pressures are particularly acute in adult social care, children’s services, public health and homelessness support. Overspends in these services have forced councils to make in-year budget cuts to balance their books.
Research commissioned by the LGA found that whilst there have been a raft of successive policies and strategies to improve mental health outcomes for children, there has been a missed opportunity to significantly ease pressure on the system by increasing the availability of preventative and early intervention support. Early intervention has been highlighted as a central aspect in many of these policies, however, this focus has not translated through to action with the system leaning towards prioritising specialist and complex treatments rather than early intervention and prevention.
Suicide prevention is a priority for local government. On average 13 people in England take their lives every day, with three quarters of these suicide victims being male. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 as well as the leading cause of death in young people.
We welcomed the findings of the Mendoza Review, but we are concerned that it identified local authority-run and supported museums as most vulnerable to funding pressures.
Investing in councils will have a positive effect on wider economic growth and the public finances. Research suggests that putting money into infrastructure and services such as social housing, local roads, and green spaces is good for the overall economy.
It is vital that local government reflects the communities it represents. However, despite women winning the right to stand in elections over 100 years ago, only 35 per cent of councillors are women.