Tory chief of council group warns authorities face being 'damaged beyond recognition' by cuts

Cuts to council budgets will leave authorities stripped of crucial services to the point that they are unrecognisable, the Conservative leader of the Local Government Association has warned.



Lord Porter said the eight years of austerity inflicted on council budgets - during which £16bn had been slashed - had left them at risk of being “damaged beyond recognition”.

The body said Chancellor Philip Hammond’s next spending review will be "make or break" for authorities already grappling with major funding pressures.

In a warning to ministers, the LGA chief said the wellbeing of vulnerable adults and children was at risk unless ministers intervene to plug an £8bn black hole by 2023 amid a surge in social care needs.

While the NHS received a £20bn boost last month and other central government departments are ramping up the pressure for increases, councils are expected to have to wait until at least the autumn for ministers’ green paper on overhauling the funding of adult social care services.

Speaking ahead of the LGA’s annual conference, Lord Porter said: “We’ve reached a point where councils will no longer be able to support our residents as they expect, including our most vulnerable.

He added: “Councils now spend less on early intervention, support for the voluntary sector has been reduced, rural bus services have been scaled back, libraries have been closed and other services have also taken a hit.

“More and more councils are struggling to balance their books and others are considering whether they have the funding to even deliver their statutory requirements.

“If the government allows the funding gap facing councils and local services to reach almost £8bn by the middle of the next decade, then our councils and local services will be damaged beyond recognition.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “Over the next two years, we are providing councils with £90.7bn to help them meet the needs of their residents.

“On top of this, we are giving them the power to retain more of the income they get from business rates so they can use it to drive further growth in their area.”

Shadow Communities Secretary Andrew Gwynne, said: "This new analysis is a damning verdict on eight years of Tory austerity. Our public services are straining at the seams, whilst the government continues to cut funding."