The Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities has published local authority service expenditure budgets for the 2024-25 financial year.
With 96% of England’s local authorities responding to the Department’s call for Revenue Account budget returns, it was found that budgets amount to an increase of £8.6 billion when compared to 2023-24, with budgets coming to £127.1 billion for the next year. In the main, this increase came across four areas.
Education services is budgeted to increase by £2.7 billion, with this seeing £41.8 billion of expenditure. This has come thanks to Early Years expenditure increase in real terms by £1.9 billion. Adult Social Care, when excluding NHS funding, is set to increase by the second most as this rises to £24.5 billion. The 9.3% increase comes alongside a real terms increase to social care grant funding when compared to 2023-24, which has risen by £1.8 billion.
The highest percentage increase comes in Children’s Social Care, where expenditure is budgeted to be £14.2 billion, which represents an 11% increase on the budget for 2023-24. This will see a further £1.4 billion being put into that particular service area. A £1.3 billion increase (8.6%) will also bee seen in police service net expenditure, with this rising to £16.6 billion for 2024-25.
Despite 395 of the local authorities in England submitting their data in time for analysis, sixteen authorities missed the early June deadline. These authorities include North East Combined Authority, North Yorkshire Council, and the London Borough of Richmond Upton Thames.
When looking at how revenue expenditure will be funded, central government grants are anticipated to amount to 51% of the funding responsible, around £67.3 billion. Council tax will account for 31% of this spending, whilst the majority of the rest of this will be financed through retained business rates.
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