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Councils could fail to deliver due to cuts

Austerity cuts could leave local councils at risk of serious financial difficulties or at risk of failing to deliver essential services by 2015.

“The Local State We’re In” report compiled by PwC found that over 90% of councils had achieved their cost cutting targets, with a third exceeding them. Despite this however, there are concerns that further financial pressures beyond the current spending review period could damage council service provisions.

Increasing demand for services, particularly in adult social care mean that it will be difficult for councils to make further savings, and the survey has now indicated that this could contribute to building pressure on councils.

80% of council leaders believe that one or more councils could experience financial difficulties by 2012, with 70% of chief executives believing that one or more councils could fail to deliver essential services.

David Smith, director, government & public sector PwC, Newcastle said: “There is an increasing realisation within the sector that austerity will continue for some years to come.

“Councils have been remarkably successful so far in finding savings in a way that has largely protected frontline services and many are confident that they can repeat that in the immediate future.

“But the pressures are so great that a sustainable future requires councils to begin to address now more complex challenges such as demand management and take a whole system approach to reform.”

Budget cuts indicate that many councils will be forced to downsize, whilst also commissioning external services rather than direct provision. While 70-80 of the public were happy that leisure, arts, parks and library services could be delivered by the private or not-for-profit sector, a third were concerned about services in education, housing and benefits services being delivered by anyone other than the council.

Over half of chief executives and three quarters of leaders said they thought the public were very or fairly well informed about the reasons that councils were planning to make savings. By contrast only one quarter of the public thought so. Four out of five of 18-34 year olds felt poorly informed.

David Smith, director, government & public sector PwC, Newcastle said:“One of the real challenges for councils is that, just as they are beginning to get to grips with the more complex issues such as demand management, so the public attitude towards austerity and cuts is noticeably hardening.

“Councils are going to need to do much more in terms of explaining the changes to individuals and communities, and communicating more imaginatively and effectively, if they are going to secure support for the very difficult choices they will be making in the coming years.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .