Research shows that poorest councils have seen deepest budget cuts

Austerity cuts hit councils in England twice as hard as those in Scotland or Wales, a study has found. The average reduction in spending on services was almost 24 per cent in England compared to just 12 per cent in Wales and 11.5 per cent in Scotland. The findings come from the first detailed analysis of local authority budgets across Britain since 2010 by Cambridge University researchers.

The study found all 46 councils that had cut spending by 30 per cent or more were located in England. The hardest hit local authorities tended to be in areas of ‘multiple deprivation’, where councils are reliant on central government funding, property values are lower, and there are fewer additional sources of revenue or funding. Richer areas such as the South East and Home Counties, which have stronger local economies, suffered less.

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