SIGOMA Chair responds to exceptional financial support announcement

Posted on March 01, 2024

Responding to the news that 19 councils, including 6 SIGOMA members, have been granted exceptional financial support for 24/25, Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA) said:

The number of councils that have applied, and the extent of the support that has been agreed, reveals the extraordinary financial crisis facing local government. After 14 years of cuts and now rapidly rising demand-led pressures, councils are at breaking point. This exceptional financial support will be welcome as a stopgap for those councils that have applied, but will not provide a long-term solution, solve the current systemic issues in local government finances or stop councils from having to make severe cuts in services. Instead, the long-term solution to the funding crisis in local government is a fair and sustainable settlement for councils that closes the funding gap and distributes funding on a needs-basis.

Read coverage of our comments in the following publications:

• The Guardian – “Nineteen English councils handed multimillion-pound bailout agreements” (29 February)

• LocalGov – “Councils set for £2.5bn in exceptional financial support” (29 February)

• Public Finance – “Councils given £2.5bn in exceptional financial support” (29 February)

• Local Government Lawyer – “Government “minded to” give Birmingham £1.2bn capitalisation direction” (29 February)

• Northern Agenda – “'Extraordinary crisis facing local government'” (1 March)