Local authority funds to increase by 6.5% in England, the government has announced

Michael Gove announced the £64bn support package in attempts to prevent more councils from declaring effective bankruptcy.

Image: Unsplash / Birmingham City Council

The increase is unlikely to be enough to plug the £4bn funding gap faced by councils this year and next.

The Government has said each council will receive a minimum 3% uplift in their core spending power, which is the amount they have to spend from a combination of Government grants, council tax and business rates.

Councils can raise their core council tax by up to 3% without a local referendum.

This comes as local authorities - including Birmingham and Nottingham - issued Section 114 notices earlier this year, effectively declaring bankruptcy.

It should be noted, this is not additional funding, as this was confirming the provisional local government settlement 2024/25, that had already been previously outlined.

The County Councils Network, which represents England’s largest councils, says the absence of additional funding leaves its councils with 'no choice but to implement more severe reductions to services and to levy higher council tax rises'.