PRESS RELEASE
21 November 2023
For immediate release
Local Labour Leader Cllr Sirajul Islam has written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt demanding that he delivers a fair deal for Tower Hamlets in the upcoming Autumn Statement.
The letter comes ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 22nd November 2023, in which he will set out the government’s spending priorities and has the opportunity to reverse the damaging Conservative cuts that have left many public services struggling to survive. Since 2010 the government has repeatedly cut funding to councils, leaving an increasing number of councils warning that they could effectively go bankrupt in the coming months.
The cross-party Local Government Association have warned that a combination of rampant inflation, rising homelessness, and the increased cost of delivering services such as children’s social care mean councils are facing a £4bn funding gap by March 2025.
Commenting on the letter, Cllr Sirajul Islam said:
“Tower Hamlets deserves a fair deal. Government funding cuts have been unfairly targeted at areas like Tower Hamlets. The Conservative government has cut funding to our area by -£222.64m in real terms since 2010, which is equivalent to a -59% of the funding we received from the last Labour government.
“Unfunded pressures are pushing council finances to the brink. Local family finances are still recovering from the Conservative government’s disastrous decisions that crashed our economy. The government should take responsibility for funding local services, rather than once again forcing councils to increase council tax bills.”
“The Chancellor must use the Autumn Statement to deliver the fair deal for Tower Hamlets that we deserve. If he cannot do that, the Conservatives should call a General Election and give the country the chance to vote in a new government that has a plan to give Tower Hamlets its future back.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- Local Government Association figures show councils in England face a funding gap of £4 billion over the next two years – a £1 billion increase since the LGA’s initial analysis in July as cost and demand pressures continue to rise. https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/funding-gap-growing-councils-firmly-eye-inflationary-storm
Text of the letter to Chancellor:
Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer,
I am writing to you ahead of the Autumn Statement that you are preparing to deliver later this month, to set out Tower Hamlets Council current budget pressures and ask you to take urgent action to preserve the vital public services local people rely on by delivering a fair deal for Tower Hamlets.
The Conservative government has cut funding to our area by -£222.64m in real terms since 2010, which is equivalent to a -59% of the funding we received from the last Labour government. Conservative funding cuts to councils have been unfairly targeted at areas like Tower Hamlets – in the same period, council budgets in prosperous areas like Wokingham have only reduced by 3%.
Councils across the country, and of all political colours, are united in saying that local government funding is not sustainable. An increasing number of councils are warning that they could effectively go bankrupt in the coming months. The cross-party Local Government Association has warned that councils in England will face a £4 billion budget shortfall by March 2025.
Our own council is currently subject to a range of funding pressures that require government support, including:
- Inflation is a major factor which has not been properly accounted for in our government funding. Inflation soared after your government’s mini budget crashed the economy and is still at a much higher level than anticipated and has added significant costs to our council.
- Increased Children’s Services costs, which relate mainly to higher prices for supporting children and young people in residential and supported accommodation.
- Homelessness costs remain a constant pressure in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing freeze to Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
- Demand continues to increase for long-term care arrangements in Adult Social Care.
- Home to School Transport costs for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) continue to spiral due to an increase in the number of children requiring it.
- Government migration policy, including the rapid closure of asylum hotels, is leaving councils to pick up the costs.
These funding pressures are largely a direct result of government policy, including the disastrous mini-budget last year which crashed the economy. Your government should bear the responsibility of meeting them, rather than once again forcing councils to increase council tax bills. This is simply not sustainable during a cost-of-living crisis.
If you cannot deliver a fair deal for Tower Hamlets, then the Prime Minister should call a General Election and give local people the chance to vote for a Labour Government that will give Britain its future back. Labour has a plan for Tower Hamlets that will get Britain building again, switch on Great British Energy to reduce bills, get the NHS back on its feet, take back our streets from crime and disorder, and break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage.
Without immediate action councils will need to make increasingly difficult decisions about services we will have to reduce or stop all together. You have an opportunity in the Autumn Statement to deliver a fair deal for Tower Hamlets – to protect vital public services and to avoid increasing the tax burden on families still dealing with the cost-of-living crisis that your government caused when you crashed the economy. We urge you to take it.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Sirajul Islam
Leader of Tower Hamlets Labour Group
