Councils are on the frontline when it comes to support services (Funding of public services in England skewed against poor areas, 15 August). Despite the fight for fair funding, we continue to bear the brunt of national crises. We need certainty on long-term funding to cover increased cost pressures and rising demand, and to invest in local services to help our residents live healthy, happy and fulfilled lives.
Our wider services are at risk if the government does not find a way of funding local government that doesn’t simply put the burden on taxpayers.
Despite fighting for fairer funding for over a decade, there is still no action from Westminster on much-needed reform to tackle the cost of services such as social care, which accounts for about 70% of our discretionary budget. This is a national issue that cannot be fully addressed at a local level, despite our efforts to work with public sector partners and service users to co-produce our services. We need long-term certainty to plan and design interventions that have a long-term impact.
While we welcome opportunities such as the levelling up partnership and regional devolution, there is still an urgency to address the local government finance settlement for a fairer and more sustainable form of funding in the longer term.
We know our residents are already under intense pressure. We have taken action on the cost of living to step up our support services, invest in prevention and target support to those who most need it, signpost to outreach networks and work the borough’s voluntary sector to face the challenges head-on. We will continue to do all we can to support residents and businesses to reshape our services to ensure that they are sustainable and support those in need.
Tracey Dixon
Leader, South Tyneside council