English councils face unsustainable finances. Increased spending, rising demand, and budget cuts strain social care and vital services.
Most of the new spending went to social care. Adult and children’s services saw £10.3 billion more, increasing social care spending’s share from 53% to 58% of total spending. Funding per person, however, has stayed about the same.
England’s population grew by 5%, putting pressure on services. Demand increased even faster than the population due to factors like homelessness, which rose due to inflation, and housing shortages. Adult social care plan requests jumped 15%.
People now live longer with health problems, meaning they need more support. As resources shift to urgent needs, preventative work gets less focus, hindering longer-term solutions.
Demand for special education plans doubled, rising by 140% to 576,000. SEND budgets lack funding to cope, leading many councils to overspend their budgets with permission until 2026. Some face serious budget deficits soon.
Councils spent £42.3 billion on social care and education. These areas took up most of the budget, causing other services like libraries and parks to face cuts. These services support wellbeing, so cuts may increase social care needs.
Limited budgets cause reactive care, forcing councils to address only the most urgent cases. Preventative care suffers due to this focus, exacerbated by a £846 million fall in public health grants, a 20.1% decrease.
Some councils face financial crisis. Seven issued section 114 notices since 2018 and forty-two received over £5 billion in support. Many fear they will need section 114 notices soon. Short-term measures do not fix long-term issues, requiring a whole finance system overhaul. Transparency and value for money are key.