Council spending in England has plummeted by a third over the course of the last parliament, finance bosses have warned.
According to figures from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), spending per capita dropped by 17.2% in cash terms between 2009-10 and 2015-16 – or 32% when adjusted for inflation.
Amid the housing crisis, housing budgets have been hardest hit with a cut of 9.9% in spending since 2014-15, while planning budgets have fallen 9.8%.
However, highways and transport has seen an increase in budget of 2.2% in the same period.
Chief executive of CIPFA, Rob Whiteman, said the figures ‘will paint a worrying picture’ for local authorities.
‘To survive in this tough economic climate it’s absolutely right for councils to have a rigorous focus on value for money and work more effectively with the wider public sector to deliver savings for taxpayers and better outcomes for local communities,' he said.
'That’s why we believe there needs to be substantial reforms to our systems of public financial management with greater alignment of local public services and for the government to budget for the medium to long term if public services are to be sustainable over the next decade.’
