Local government reorganisation briefing notes: funding and service disaggregation

Today, the County Councils Network (CCN) publishes two briefing notes provided by local government finance experts Pixel Financial Management on local government reorganisation.

These factual briefings were developed for CCN member councils, and the wider sector, to understand the issues and implications of service and funding disaggregation as result of both recent and future decisions on reorganisation.

• Download the Pixel Financial Management briefing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) – complexity of disaggregating funding in a multi-unitary business cases – systems and finance issues here.
• Download the Pixel Financial Management briefing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) – complexity of disaggregating funding in multi-unitary business cases here.

The CCN is supporting its member councils to respond to recent announcements and working to ensure future decisions remain evidence-based and in line with the government’s statutory criteria.

Responding to the briefings, CCN Chair Cllr Matthew Hicks said:

“The County Councils Network’s research has consistently outlined the risks associated with disaggregating services and funding. As we said at the time of recent decisions, the level of disaggregation and boundary change that are now proposed are unprecedented and at odds with the government’s original criteria.

“The analysis by Pixel Financial Management clearly demonstrates the level of complexity involved is untried and untested, with severe risks that funding could be misaligned with actual need and financial systems may not be ready for vesting day.

“Given the scale and unprecedented nature of disaggregation at both county and district level, serious questions remain over whether this have been fully and robustly assessed during the process, with the government not providing further information to justify and evidence that these reorganisations can be delivered on sustainable financial basis.

“If these reorganisations are to be at all successful, government departments will need to provide extensive support to local areas, including sharing the data underpinning new formulae to accurately disaggregate their income and funding to prevent some councils being unsustainable from day one. The government must commit to being more open and transparent, both in the evidence underpinning the decision-making process and the support they can provide to local areas.”