Every day, the impact of the funding cuts imposed on local authorities since 2010 are visible in the fabric of our local communities. Services people rely on, such as social care, libraries, parks, waste collection, and housing, have been reduced or scrapped while staff have been made redundant. Residents have faced climbing council tax bills, while they have seen the services their council provides reduce.

There is no question the local government funding crisis needs to be at the top of the next Government’s agenda. Andy Haldane, chair of the Government’s levelling-up advisory council, recently argued the funding crisis had affected levelling up ‘without question’. This comes as no surprise when local government has taken the brunt of deep cuts to the public sector.