Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2020/21: on-the-day briefing

The local government finance settlement is the annual determination of funding to local government from central government. This briefing covers the provisional local government finance settlement for 2020/21. We expect the final 2020/21 settlement to be laid before the House of Commons, for its approval, in late January or early February 2020.

The LGA has issued a media statement responding to today’s statement.

Key messages

• The LGA is pleased that the Government listened to our call for the publication of this settlement before Christmas which gives councils much of the certainty they need about how local services will be funded next year.
• The Settlement indicates that core spending on local services has the potential to increase by £2.9 billion next year, which is good news for councils and shows that the Government has responded to the financial pressures local authorities face in meeting rising costs and demand for services, such as adult and children’s social care, and homelessness support. The further addition of over £780 million to the high needs block of dedicated schools grant to fund the rising costs of meeting special educational needs brings the total of potential additional resources to over £3.5 billion as announced in the Spending Round.
• The Settlement includes an additional £1 billion of central government funding for social care, as announced in the 2019 Spending Round. This will help ensure councils can continue to help older and disabled people live more independently and support our most vulnerable young people. Confirmation that key social care grants will also continue next year provides much-needed stability for local authorities.

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