COUNCILS across England, Scotland and Wales are facing financial collapse with a collective black hole of £4 billion after more than a decade of Tory government cuts and austerity.
Public-sector union Unison, which represents hundreds of thousands of council workers, says the deficit is “way beyond” previous estimates and is likely to mean “massive cuts” to jobs and vital services.
The union’s report, Councils on the Brink, says that the worst-hit local authorities are Hampshire County Council (£132 million deficit), Bradford City Council (£126m), Birmingham City Council (£119m), Somerset Council (£104m) and Leicester City Council (£90m).
Unison says local communities served by the councils are facing “a potentially catastrophic and far-reaching effect.”
Bradford City Council, in West Yorkshire, will this month auction off a swimming pool, two former care homes shut down by earlier cuts, former school land, a car park and other publicly owned assets — the first of 150 earmarked for sale.
Leaders at Hampshire County Council plan to end support for homeless people from March next year.
Britain’s largest authority, Birmingham City Council, is to implement one of the biggest local government cuts packages in history – including shedding up to 600 jobs, slashing social care and children’s services and reducing waste collections.
And Middlesbrough Council has set aside £3.6m for future redundancies.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “After 14 years of ruthless austerity, the very fabric of local society is under threat.
“Councils are quite simply the linchpin of local areas, so when services go, many people are left vulnerable, with no-one to pick up the pieces.
“Local authorities were clobbered by the previous government, whose harsh financial settlements left councils with no option but to sell off the family silver, auction off green spaces, close key community facilities and let thousands of workers go.
“Only swift and decisive action to stabilise local finances will do.”
She said Labour had “inherited a mess” and warned “ministers cannot ignore the terrible plight of authorities of every political persuasion.”
“There’s an unquestionable need to turn the page on the destructive cuts of the past and invest in services and staff to help councils rebuild Britain,” she added.
Ms McAnea told the Morning Star in a previous interview that council funding alongside the NHS were the number key priorities an incoming Labour government must face.
The Local Government Association was invited to comment.
