COUNCILS across England and Wales are £3 billion short of just being able to maintain existing levels of austerity-hit services, local authority bosses warned today.

The Local Government Association (LGA) stressed that 40-year-high inflation could force councils to make yet more cuts or raid financial reserves to balance their books, as it urged Tory ministers to provide extra funding.

The cost of delivering services at current levels will exceed core funding by £2bn this year and £900 million in 2024-25, it predicted.