According to the umbrella body London Councils, the final local government finance settlement for 2019-20, published yesterday, means that London boroughs will not receive enough additional funding to plug the £500 million funding gap they are facing in the next financial year.
Cllr Peter John OBE, chair of London Councils, said: “We are disappointed that Government has not listened to our urgent concerns about the state of local government finances in London. London boroughs will have to make huge savings to remain in the black this year, putting pressure on key services that are already overstretched and struggling."
This year’s local government finance settlement is the last year of the four-year settlement agreed with MHCLG in 2016. Therefore, the next Spending Review will need to set out plans for funding local government beyond 2020.
Read more about London Councils’ Investing in the Future campaign.
