Centre for Cities response to new funding deal for local government

In response to the new four-year funding package for councils in England, announced today by the Government, Alexandra Jones, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities said:

“Today’s announcement sets out radical changes to the funding system for local government, giving places welcome control over their own tax revenue and more tools to drive growth in their local economies. The four year funding commitment also offers local authorities helpful certainty on what’s ahead, which will help them adjust to the new financial climate.

“However, given the strong track record of local authorities in making savings in recent years, the requirement for councils to produce an efficiency plan in order to receive this funding commitment is unnecessary and potentially counter-productive.

“Over the next four years, as councils become more dependent on money raised locally, the Government must continue to give cities more of the fiscal powers and incentives they need to boost key areas of economic growth like housing, skills and infrastructure. By 2020, a reformed council tax and business rate system, together with devolved land and property taxes including stamp duty, would make a big difference in helping local leaders to drive economic growth.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact Brian Semple, Press Manager for the Centre for Cities, on 0207 803 4316 / 07595 439 638 or b.semple@centreforcities.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Read our new report, Beyond business rates, for more details about how greater fiscal devolution could help places drive economic growth.

Centre for Cities is a research and policy institute, dedicated to improving the economic success of UK cities. We are a charity that works with cities, business and Whitehall to develop and implement policy that supports the performance of urban economies. We do this through impartial research and knowledge exchange. For more information, please visit centreforcities.org.