Figures show £4bn shortfall in council finances

Figures from UNISON show that councils across England, Scotland and Wales have a collective shortfall in their finances amounting to more than £4bn for the coming financial year.

The figures are based on information from local authorities.

The report from UNISON, entitled Councils on the Brink warns of ‘the widespread collapse of local government', with cuts expected to services and jobs.

Authorities could be forced to  sell land, buildings and other capital assets and make cuts to services like rubbish collection and recycling, libraries, public toilets and leisure centres.

According to the figures, the five councils with the biggest predicted shortfalls for 2025/26 account for a half-billion pound funding gap. The councils are Hampshire County Council (£132m), Bradford City Council (£126m), Birmingham City Council (£119m), Somerset Council (£104m) and Leicester City Council (£90m).

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Councils are teetering on the brink of financial disaster. Countless essential services and very many vital jobs are at risk, with terrible consequences for communities across Britain.

“After 14 years of ruthless austerity, the very fabric of local society is under threat. Councils are quite simply the linchpin of local areas, so when services go, many people are left vulnerable, with no one to pick up the pieces.

“Local authorities were clobbered by the previous government, whose harsh financial settlements left councils with no option but to sell off the family silver, auction off green spaces, close key community facilities and let thousands of workers go. Only swift and decisive action to stabilise local finances will do.

“Labour has inherited a mess, with essential services battered and bruised. The new government understands the value of healthy public services and the role they can play in generating economic growth, in a way its predecessors simply didn’t. So as tough as the financial situation may be, ministers cannot ignore the terrible plight of authorities of every political persuasion.

“There’s an unquestionable need to turn the page on the destructive cuts of the past and invest in services and staff to help councils rebuild Britain.”