MPs warn councils need billions a year to end ‘out of control’ crisis

The “out of control” crisis in local government driven by long-term funding constraints and a “broken” financial system can only be ended by the Government providing billions of pounds more to councils, MPs have said.

Applying further pressure on ministers to ensure frontline services are protected, a report by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee said additional council funding announced earlier this month was insufficient to address the scale of the problems.

A failure to increase allocations in the local government finance settlement to cover the shortfall would push services including social