BUSINESS RATES

Let's see what happens on longer-term funding

Lorna Baxter gave evidence at the Public Accounts Committee in response to the NAO report on local government finance during COVID. She says there is acknowledgement that the longer-term funding and distribution mechanism needs to be addressed.

In my last column I wrote about my concerns over the post-pandemic cost pressures and longer-term funding for local government. The 2021 Budget did nothing to allay those fears and the preceding COVID-19 response document published in February states the Government has a responsibility, once the economy recovers, to return to a sustainable financial position. This does not bode well for local government.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report on local government finance in the pandemic highlights that the 2021-22 finance settlement was only designed to provide certainty on a short-term, time-limited basis, rather than seeking to support the sector's recovery over the medium-term. It also makes reference that the settlement did not attempt to re-engage with the stalled local government finance reform programme.

Lorna Baxter

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