Tory cuts to local government budget are hitting Labour areas, the North of England and the most deprived councils hardest, according to analysis conducted by the Labour Party.
Local authorities’ spending power per household is on course to fall by an average of 23% (£255) between 2010-11 and 2019-20. Yet Labour councils are set to see falls of 28% on average, compared to a 20 per cent fall for Tory councils.
This means that while Tory councils will see an average fall in spending power per household of £128, the equivalent cut for Labour councils is more than £524 per household – more than four times higher than Tory areas.
When looking at the worst affected councils, 9 of the top 10 local authorities set to see the biggest cuts to spending power are Labour councils, while eight out of 10 of the councils receiving the most favourable settlement over the ten years are Conservative-controlled.
In addition, the most deprived areas of the country are being hit particularly hard. Nine of the ten most deprived councils in the country have seen cuts of almost three times the national average cut of £255
Regionally, London and the North East are set to see a cut over five times that of the South East of England, with the North of England is set to see a cut of over three times what the South of England will see.
Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said:
“Local government is under enormous pressure because of the ideological Tory cuts to our communities that are hitting the poorest hardest with ordinary families paying the price as councils are forced to cut services to fill the gap.
“The Tories won’t stand up for working people, instead they are putting family prosperity and Britain’s future at risk.
“That’s why one of the proposals I helped launch this week at Labour’s Party Conference focused on giving local communities new powers on planning proposals which would put locals in control of their local areas.”
Notes:
- The analysis relates to the change in spending power per household between 2010-11 and 2019-20. According to the official DCLG ‘guide to local government finance settlement in England’ spending power is:“Spending power or revenue spending power is an estimate of the amount of funding available to each authority to spend on their core services. It is made up of estimated council tax and business rate income, Revenue Support Grant and New Homes Bonus plus a number of government grants excluding those for education and policing.”
A guide to the local government finance settlement in England, DCLG, December 2013: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266886/LGFS_Guide.pdf
- The analysis shows that between 2010 and 2020 Tory areas will have received a far lower reduction in spending power per household in both percentage and cash terms:
| Control | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (%) | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (£) |
| Conservative | -20.41% | -£127.89 |
| Labour | -28.47% | -£523.88 |
| Lib Dem | -26.88% | -£131.97 |
| Total average | -23.06% | -£255.49 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Biggest cuts in pounds per household – The areas seeing the ten biggest cuts to spending power per household in pounds are all Labour-controlled:
| Rank | Council | Political control | Change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 in £ |
| 1 | Hackney | Labour | -1425.31 |
| 2 | Newham | Labour | -1336.95 |
| 3 | Tower Hamlets | No overall control | -1285.38 |
| 4 | Knowsley | Labour | -1108.68 |
| 5 | Southwark | Labour | -1065.16 |
| 6 | Islington | Labour | -1028.34 |
| 7 | Camden | Labour | -986.29 |
| 8 | Birmingham | Labour | -970.25 |
| 9 | Liverpool | Labour | -931.90 |
| 10 | Haringey | Labour | -924.09 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Biggest cuts as a percentage per household – Eight out of the 10 areas seeing the biggest cuts to spending power per household in percentage terms are Labour-controlled:
| Rank | Council | Political control | Change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 |
| 1 | Great Yarmouth | Conservative | -46.51% |
| 2 | Barrow-in-Furness | Labour | -45.06% |
| 3 | Pendle | No overall control | -43.71% |
| 4 | Chesterfield | Labour | -43.65% |
| 5 | Hyndburn | Labour | -43.44% |
| 6 | Burnley | Labour | -42.85% |
| 7 | Copeland | Labour | -42.62% |
| 8 | Hastings | Labour | -42.44% |
| 9 | Norwich | Labour | -40.13% |
| 10 | Bolsover | Labour | -40.00% |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Biggest cuts as a total in pounds – Nine out of the 10 areas seeing the biggest cuts to spending power in total are Labour-controlled:
| Rank | Council | Political control | Change in spending – 2010/11 to 2019/20 in £ |
| 1 | Birmingham | Labour | – 376,501,883.59 |
| 2 | Manchester | Labour | – 183,380,519.37 |
| 3 | Liverpool | Labour | -179,888,701.04 |
| 4 | Sheffield | Labour | -154,567,245.39 |
| 5 | Bradford | Labour | -142,073,563.95 |
| 6 | Leeds | Labour | -133,473,678.20 |
| 7 | Lancashire | Conservative | -119,140,138.74 |
| 8 | Hackney | Labour | -113,763,394.64 |
| 9 | Newham | Labour | -113,010,283.57 |
| 10 | Durham | Labour | -110,114,301.03 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Smallest cuts in pounds per household- Nine out of the 10 areas seeing the smallest cuts to spending power per household are Conservative-controlled:
| Rank | Council | Political control | Change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 in £ |
| 1 | Isles of Scilly | Independent | 295.40 |
| 2 | Horsham | Conservative | 7.17 |
| 3 | Stratford-on-Avon | Conservative | -5.17 |
| 4 | Hart | No overall control | -6.42 |
| 5 | Uttlesford | Conservative | -7.35 |
| 6 | Tewkesbury | Conservative | -15.13 |
| 7 | Tonbridge and Malling | Conservative | -15.84 |
| 8 | Mid Sussex | Conservative | -16.42 |
| 9 | Vale of White Horse | Conservative | -17.31 |
| 10 | East Devon | Conservative | -18.48 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Smallest cuts in pounds as a percentage per household – Nine out of the 10 areas seeing the smallest cuts to spending power per household in percentage are Tory-controlled:
| Rank | Council | Political control | Change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 |
| 1 | Isles of Scilly | Independent | 7.48% |
| 2 | Horsham | Conservative | 2.81% |
| 3 | Stratford-on-Avon | Conservative | -2.02% |
| 4 | Surrey | Conservative | -2.28% |
| 5 | Hart | No overall control | -2.41% |
| 6 | Uttlesford | Conservative | -2.60% |
| 7 | Tonbridge and Malling | Conservative | -5.21% |
| 8 | Dorset | Conservative | -5.27% |
| 9 | Wokingham | Conservative | -5.89% |
| 10 | Mid Sussex | Conservative | -6.35% |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- The Tories are hitting the most deprived areas hard. Knowsley, the second most deprived area in the country has received the fourth biggest cuts of any council.
- Cuts compared to deprivation ratings – Nine of the ten most deprived councils in the country have seen cuts of almost three times the national average cut of £255:
| Deprivation rank | Council | Change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 in £ |
| 1 | Blackpool | -721.49 |
| 2 | Knowsley | -1108.68 |
| 3 | Kingston upon Hull | -732.79 |
| 4 | Liverpool | -931.90 |
| 5 | Manchester | -921.31 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough | -818.29 |
| 7 | Birmingham | -970.25 |
| 8 | Nottingham | -772.32 |
| 9 | Burnley | -244.02 |
| 10 | Tower Hamlets | -1285.38 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Regional cuts in pounds per household – London and the North East are set to see a cut over five times that of the South East of England:
| Region | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (%) | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (£) |
| East of England | -24.43% | -£138.97 |
| East Midlands | -25.70% | -£146.22 |
| London | -24.73% | -£671.17 |
| North East | -25.57% | -£639.14 |
| North West | -27.47% | -£387.26 |
| South East | -19.62% | -£125.26 |
| South West | -18.74% | -£136.68 |
| West Midlands | -22.75% | -£246.90 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | -22.55% | -£367.23 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- North vs South cuts – The North of England is set to see a cut of over three times that of the South of England:
| Region | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (%) | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (£) |
| North | -25.72% | -£421.68 |
| South (excluding London) | -19.31% | -£129.33 |
| South (including London) | -20.49% | -£247.28 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019
- Authority type – The analysis shows that between 2010 and 2020 Tory areas will have received a far lower reduction in spending power per household in both percentage and cash terms:
| Control | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (%) | Average change in spending power per household 2010/11 to 2019/20 (£) |
| London borough | -24.73% | -£671.17 |
| County council | -11.05% | -£179.58 |
| Met Borough | -25.85% | -£640.90 |
| Unitary Council | -18.92% | -£420.18 |
| District Council | -25.06% | -£84.59 |
| Total average | -23.06% | -£255.49 |
Labour party analysis based on House of Commons library research of local authority spending power 2010/11 and DCLG, core spending power, 6 February 2018, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2018-to-2019