Local authorities in England have outspent cash boosts in the past few years, leaving core funding 18% lower per person than at the start of the 2010s, a think-tank has revealed.  

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) highlighted boosts to councils' coffers from central government including £9.7bn additional funding in 2020-21 and an extra £7.5bn in 2024-25 to offset the surge in inflation and financial pressures on the sector.