Local councils up and down the country, already gutted by a decade of austerity, then hammered by Covid, are in the process of budgeting for the coming years. Their plans make for bleak reading. This will be a ongoing thread sharing coverage of our #councilsincrisis
First a look at the big picture, courtesy of the BBC's Data Unit which reports that councils across the UK face £3bn black hole in the wake of Covid. Many were kept afloat by emergency funding but there is huge uncertainty as to what happens next bbc.co.uk/news/uk-577209…
Havering council in London predicts £32m budget shortfall after Covid - which is the equivalent of nearly 20% of its annual spending romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/local-cou…
Flintshire Council in Wales says it faces £17m gap in budget this year - and has yet to work out how it will find as much as £11m of that sum deeside.com/flintshire-cou…
.@Glasgow_Live reports that up to 500 jobs could go at Glasgow City Council's culture and leisure arm following £38m losses due to the closure of venues during lockdown glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-n…
Walsall council plans to slash almost a fifth of its annual revenue budget - the highest proportion in the UK, including £13.4m from adult social care bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
In Thurrock - a council well-known to @TBIJ readers - the council is set to cut 500 jobs (25% of the workforce), and close a local theatre, to save £34m by 2024 bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…
It should be noted that Thurrock faces a significant gap in its budget despite the income generated by its controversial investment policy, which is subject to an ongoing investigation by @TBIJ thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2021-0…
Councils are having to take increasingly difficult decisions in order to balance their books. In Hampshire, health experts have criticised plans to reduce the number of health visitors and school nurses amid public health cuts hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/19426801.…
Camden's director of finance says the net impact of Covid-19 on the council could be up to £50 million, adding: "The funding received so far hasn't been sufficient" publicfinance.co.uk/news/2021/07/l…
What impact do cuts have? Study published yesterday found link between reduction in government funding to councils and reduction in life expectancy - including widening the gap between the most and least deprived areas thelancet.com/journals/lanpu…
Warrington Council facing £40 million cuts over the next four years. "It's an eye-watering amount of money," says deputy leader warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/19438855.…
And a reminder that, while councils work out how they will cope in coming years, the situation is already bleak for those in need of social care support theguardian.com/society/2021/j…
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