When historians judge the Government’s response to the coronavirus crisis they will, quite rightly, focus on the human cost. The soaring death rates – with all the devastation, grief and loss that brings – will be examined.
The Government guidance, delays to lockdown and the farcical distribution of PPE will all be in the spotlight.
It is doubtful that local government finance will take centre stage in the history books but the latest missives from communities secretary Robert Jenrick are likely to have a devastating impact on the UK’s people and economy for years – if not decades – to come.
Central government’s mixed messages on local government funding have not just been chaotic, they have been catastrophic. Go back just a few weeks and the lines were clear. ‘Whatever it takes’.
Privately, ministers reassured: if you are close to financial collapse, come to us.
Local government was handed the responsibility to look after its communities – it is what the sector is there for. Now, in a killer blow, Mr Jenrick has issued his caveat. The Government will only pay for the ‘specific tasks’ it has handed down.
That means no support for lost income. No funding for further pressures on services – from social care, to domestic abuse, to protecting those with lost income. No cash to support the local economy, rebuild town centres, create growth, jobs and skills. The list of costs – after a decade of cuts – is endless.
So surely this means a raft of s114 notices – councils declaring themselves to be out of cash. There may be threats, but here’s the rub: a s114 is not just raising the flag on your finances, giving in on trying to balance the books; it is a freeze on spending.
To stop all but statutory spending in the midst of this crisis would be irresponsible – people would suffer. Until the immediate crisis has passed, local government is being held over a barrel, with central government holding the purse strings and calling the shots.
This is not just penny pinching, it is playing with people’s lives – and it demonstrates a horrendous lack of trust in local government.
The Prime Minister has reassured the nation: austerity is over. But for local government, there is no money.
