Theme Four: Barriers preventing progress that Government can help reduce or remove
Manchester welcomes the opportunity to set out key changes that Government could make to improve productivity of Council services and outcomes for residents. These build on the progress made through successive devolution agreements and the current devolution trailblazer with GMCA and Government.
The most important set of changes is significant additional investment in Local Government as a sector and long term funding settlements of at least three years to enable investment for the longer term. Councils are currently facing a national shortfall of over £4 billion per year just to maintain current services and around a quarter are at immediate risk of issuing Section 114 notice declaring effective bankruptcy.
Government should recognise that Councils are among the most efficient and productive public services after the scale of savings made since 2010 – in Manchester’s case, over £440 million. It should realise the key role that Councils play in communities in protecting the most vulnerable through services such as children’s and adult social care and homelessness support, providing good quality universal services, and investing in the economies of their place. Instead of facing a possible further 3.6-3.8% p.a. real terms funding cut to 2028/29 (according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies), Government should protect Local Government as a sector and increase funding.
Government should build on the GMCA devolution trailblazer and expand the ‘single pot’ approach to include place-based funding for people services provided by Manchester, alongside an agreement to improve outcomes for residents, robust evidence of impacts and value for money, and good governance and assurance. It is not sustainable for Councils to have to administer over 230 different revenue funding grants and over 50 for capital. Government now needs to deliver on ending competitive bid-based funding for Councils.
Manchester has excellent partnerships with other public services in the city and these services are also under pressure from future decisions. Unless Government prioritises investment for the longer term, including in prevention and early help, services such as the NHS, Police and Housing Providers will have to make damaging cuts in these areas.
Services where productivity improvements could be delivered with additional investment and greater devolution include:
- Children’s services – Government should implement and fully fund the findings of the MacAlister Review and reform the system of Dedicated School Grant deficits
- Adult social care – invest in prevention and early intervention, transformation, workforce, disabled facilities grant, and fair price of care
- Uplifting the Homelessness prevention grant by implementing the new funding formula, properly funding and reforming the asylum seeker and refugee support system, long term funding of Local Housing Allowance at the 30th percentile of rents
- Measures set out in our economic strategy, Investing in Success, in relation to housing development, transport infrastructure, innovation support, work and skills including Universal Support and the apprenticeship levy
National silos in performance reporting, monitoring and assurance regimes prevent best value for money and delivery of outcomes for residents. Government should develop a place based approach to regulation and inspection based on both the priorities of the place as well as national Government, including assurance delivering effective prevention.