(20 Sep 2024, 11:54 am)BusLoverMum wrote Councils have nothing left down the backs of their sofas, though. It's money that Westminster haven't been giving them and they've not been allowed to raise by other means, while the costs of their various statutory responsibilities escalate.

Other means of income is a good point. People often (incorrectly) assume that Council expenditure is predominantly from Council tax receipts. Business rates don't even come close to plugging that gap, as the 'Councils retain half' element doesn't exactly work like that, with the 50% for Councils then being divided up equally between all Local Authorities. 

On top of that, Councillors of course have a legal requirement to set a balanced budget. So those outside of the Government of the day, are essentially enforced by statute to deliver UK Government austerity. Councils do some awful wasteful stuff, as do most organisations, but they don't half take a lot of flack for making the most out of an awful financial situation.

Hopefully people will take part in this LTP consultation with some good and positive feedback.