Local authority expenditure has fallen this year by 5.7% to just above £99.5bn, the first such drop in spending since the introduction of council tax in the early 1990s.
Figures released by the DCLG and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) showed overall total service expenditure – comprising all direct revenue payments and income from services which the authority alone is responsible for – has fallen to 2008/09 levels, equivalent to £1,921 per person.
