Councils across England will receive a £600 million support package, in addition to funding outlined at the provisional settlement, to help them deliver key services, the Levelling Up Secretary has announced today.
The support package comes as the government has made significant progress on its economic priorities of halving inflation, growing the economy and reducing debt. Because of the progress made, we are able to support councils to deliver key services across the country.
The government values the important contribution councils make and has conducted an extensive engagement and listening programme with councils to understand the pressures they are facing including high inflation, driven by the legacy of Covid, and global instability with war in Ukraine and the Middle East. Today's £600 million announcement reflects the unprecedented challenges that they have faced.
The support package will primarily see an additional £500 million added to the Social Care Grant to bolster social care budgets, a key concern raised by councils.
All councils will also see an increase in Core Spending Power of at least 4% through the Funding Guarantee before any local choices on council tax, efficiencies or reserves - an increase from the 3% announced at the provisional settlement. The Government's manifesto commits to continuing to protect local taxpayers from excessive council tax increases. The proposed referendum principles strikes a fair balance. Local authorities must be mindful of cost-of-living pressures when taking any decisions relating to council tax.
This funding builds on the £64 billion package already announced at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25, and has been welcomed by leading local government organisations including the Local Government Association, County Councils Network and District Councils Network.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:
We have listened to councils across England about the pressures they're facing and have always stood ready to help those in need.
This additional £600 million support package illustrates our commitment to local government. We are in their corner, and we support the incredible and often unsung work they do day-to-day to support people across the country.
Minister for Local Government Simon Hoare added:
This injection of funding will help ensure services which people rely on can continue - and demonstrates how important we view local government. We have listened to various organisations and considered their views seriously and I'm grateful to those who reached out to me.
The funding offers something for all of our hard-working councils, with additional funding for social care as well as help for rural authorities to deliver essential services.
In light of the exceptional circumstances, the Treasury will be providing £500m with
