Source: Green Party of England and Wales
Green Council Leaders have today written to the Prime Minister and Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out “the crisis facing local government”.
Their letter outlines the dire conditions facing councils across the UK dealing with “the compound effects of cuts, privatisation and neglect” as well as the immediate emergency measures needed to address this crisis.
The Government’s own figures estimate that there is a £4 billion funding gap in local authorities, which the Local Government Authority predicts will rise to £7 billion by 2029. This funding gap severely impacts the ability of local authorities to deliver frontline services such as social care, housing and education.
The letter outlines six immediate commitments to:
- Establish an emergency fund to deal with the temporary accommodation crisis, with a commitment to stronger powers to regulate the sector and nightly caps on costs
- Provide councils with sufficient funding to cover the costs of their statutory responsibilities on SEND provision
- Suspend debt repayments on all loans owed by councils to central government for a defined period to give councils room to breathe
- Direct MHCLG to suspend the enforcement of cuts and asset disposal schemes as part of Exceptional Financial Support arrangements
- Commit to central government covering the costs of the current local government reorganisation
- Meet with councils to agree a funded infrastructure and capital investment plan
The full letter sent this morning is signed by the leaders of seven borough councils, two city councils, and three district councils.
Zoë Garbett, Mayor of Hackney and one of the letter’s signatories said:
“People across Hackney and the country are suffering as a result of a relentless cost of living crisis. Successive governments have underfunded and undervalued local government, leaving us unable to meet the drastically growing needs of our residents.
“I want to see Burnham succeed, because people desperately need to see their day-to-day lives become easier, more affordable and more secure. We are therefore suggesting measures the government can take immediately to ease the suffering of our residents. He simply needs to step up to the mark and deliver them.
“Alongside this immediate relief, we need systemic change too. It is time to end austerity, fund local government services, and begin to turn this country around. Burnham could be part of that change, or the same old same old; the choice is his.”
Rachel Millward, Co-Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and one of the letter’s signatories said:
“We’re still waiting to see which version of Andy Burnham is going to show up. He has made some noises about supporting local government, but we need to see action. Years of neoliberalism and austerity have left our councils, and the residents they tirelessly support, on the brink. I’m proud of the good work our Green councillors, council leaders, and mayors are doing all over the country, but we need serious intervention from national government to stop this crisis from spiralling even further out of control.”