Councils across England, Wales and Scotland face a £3bn funding black hole next year
Councils in England, Wales and Scotland are grappling with huge budget deficits totalling £3.09bn for the next financial year*, according to research published by UNISON today (Wednesday).
The record shortfall in 2022/23 will lead to huge service and staff cuts at local authorities across Britain unless the government urgently finds the money to protect communities, the union says.
The stark results show the mammoth savings needed to balance the books, without new funding from the government. The cuts will result in significant reductions in the vital support given to local people unless councils receive emergency help, says UNISON.
Many councils have already suffered massive cuts to services in recent years, including bin collections, teaching assistant numbers, social care, library hours and community spaces such as parks. Any further reductions would strip even more essential services to the bone or remove them completely, says UNISON.
Throughout the pandemic councils have kept services running, protected the vulnerable and delivered new functions. It’s essential they receive enough funding to provide for communities as life returns to normal, UNISON says.
Councils grappling with large budget deficits include:
Hampshire County Council, which faces making more than £65.9m savings next year. Eight libraries across the county have already closed within the past year, at the cost of 50 jobs, and the county’s remaining library opening ho...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Anthony Barnes Tags: News Press release local government funding Source Type: news
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