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I am somewhat in the dark – quite literally. The MJ this week is brought to you by the sheer determination and innovation of a team devoted to perseverance and commitment to their jobs, following an explosion of a power supply just outside the office. As a result, much of the magazine was worked on with no power – no email, no networked computers and no phones. Back to the dark ages of local government journalism. I feel like we, as a sector, are similarly in the dark about the Autumn Statement. The statement boasted no cuts to local government or at least that is how the chancellor billed it. No extra cuts – on top of the existing 43% – would have been a more realistic announcement, but let's not quibble. Ultimately, the sector was just thankful that the latest financial statement didn't make a further hit on its creaking budgets. So why do I still feel I am in the dark? The Autumn Statement was a little too easy for the sector. I can't help but thinking there is more to come that I just can't see – if not in the statement itself, then saved for the finance settlement. Thus far, the chancellor has warned he ‘expects' to see a council tax freeze. In a Government with the tendency to favour the stick over the carrot, the ‘expectation' could be anything from a PR battle to get the public on side to a clampdown on the referendum thresholds. We have, in effect, returned to the dark days of ‘crude and universal capping'. You can now have the freedom to raise council tax by as much as you want but you have to go to the electorate – at great extra cost – and the governmental PR machine will ensure the public is not automatically on your side. It's time for a more grown up discussion about how councils manage their own finances – rather than making them grope around in the dark with no power.

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Editor's comment: In the dark about Autumn Statement

By Heather Jameson | 12 December 2013

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