Local elections: has the key to Levelling Up success been revealed?

The Specialist Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA) has unveiled the launch of its 2023 manifesto. In it experts revealed councils should receive better funding without having to battle for it.

SIGOMA, the campaigning network made up of 47 urban local councils, has claimed that the government could reach significant success with its Levelling Up agenda if they scrap the scheme of making councils across the UK bid against each other for funds, business rates reforms and implementing social care reforms.

Since 2013 there has been a shift in the way local authorities are funded. SIGOMA claims the structures that support a fair distribution of funds raised through taxation have been replaced by ones that tend to reward high-value housing stock and a large and thriving business rate base.

Following this, the organisation states in their manifesto, which can be access in full here, the proportion of funding from government by grants has reduced while the amount raised from local taxes has had to increase.

This has merely benefitted the wealthiest areas in the UK who rely less on grant funding and who raise more from council tax and business rates. Councils now receive £4.58bn in grant and retained rates than raised through the business rate system whereas in 2013-13 they received £4.93bn more – this is a reversal equivalent to £9.51m.

Against this backdrop, SIGOMA has identified several areas that require government reform to help councils that have seen funding fall from 55% of councils core spending power in 2013-14 to just 37% in 2023-24.

These include:

• Local government finance reforms
• Levelling Up
• Children’s services
• Adult social care
• Transport
• Housing
• Devolution
• Welfare

Chair of SIGOMA, Stephen Houghton, said: ‘As political parties step up their canvassing ahead of the local elections this week, households on every street are crying out for a government and local representatives that can provide a promising vision for the future.

‘[This week’s] announcement lays out a clear manifesto that will help support councils across the country that are on their knees after 13 years of continuous cuts and provide them with the financial support to invest in their local communities and help generate long-term prosperity. This manifesto is truly Levelling Up in action.’

The manifesto was released this week ahead of the local elections, in which voting took place yesterday and today the results are being counted. Currently labour has taken the lead as conservatives are vastly losing control of councils.

Image: Elliott Stallion