Government funding announcement for Brighton & Hove City Council ‘desperately disappointing’, says council’s deputy leader and finance lead Jacob Taylor

Brighton & Hove City Council’s deputy leader and finance lead Jacob Taylor (Labour) has described today’s local government funding announcement from the government as ‘desperately disappointing’.

Councillor Taylor said: “This new announcement from the government falls disastrously short of meeting the huge inflationary costs and demand pressures facing the council next year.

“In the last 13 years, the government has slashed the council’s budget by £120 million in real terms.

“We are in a period of very high inflation and growing demands for council services and homelessness support driven by the cost-of-living crisis.

“The less money we have the fewer services we can provide.”

“Far from solving our problems, this announcement means the council is now left with a funding gap of £33 million for next year’s budget.

“We now know that the government’s promised minimum 3% uplift for local authorities will in fact be funded by top-slicing money from other local authorities.

“Our council will lose £1.6m in order to fund this promise.

“The council’s finances are in an extremely perilous position. There is nothing here to provide relief for this council or other local authorities who have faced a decade of central government austerity or any real-world financial help for struggling families.

“In the last 13 years, the government has slashed the council’s budget by £120 million in real terms.”

“We’re doing everything we can to reduce inequality and tackle poverty and homelessness. But this desperately disappointing announcement means we will have to find millions more in savings next year.

“Not only that, but the government’s Autumn Statement was the latest ever announced – and this is the sixth one-year financial settlement in a row, giving local authorities no time to plan or manage this.

“It means we will have to take some urgent and extremely difficult decisions in the coming weeks to protect essential services.

“To put it bluntly, the less money we have the fewer services we can provide.”