Local Government Context
Local government makes a real difference to peoples’ lives. It plays a critical role in providing our children and young people with the best start in life, delivering new homes, jobs and opportunities, keeping people well and safe, reducing pressure on the NHS and policing, and in providing the every-day services that our communities rely on.
Increasing numbers of Local Authorities have however, found themselves under unprecedented financial pressure. An extended period of annual reductions in central government grant, increases in the scale and complexity of demand particularly for services such as social care, homelessness and SEND, and rising prices have created a situation in which cost and demand pressures exceed available resources. The Local Government Association has previously estimated that the sector faces an £8.4bn funding gap by 2028-29.
As a result, many Councils have become reliant on short-term funding, reserves or Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) to balance their budgets. However, these measures are not sustainable long-term solutions.
Councils, including Bradford, have called on the government to deliver additional investment, greater certainty about funding through multi-year settlements, and the implementation of fairer funding taking greater account of need alongside fundamental policy reform in areas such as SEND and social care.
The Local Government Financial Settlements 2026-27 to 2028-29 have responded to some of these concerns. A three-year financial settlement which will run through the course of much of this Council Plan will support longer-term planning and the implementation of the Fair Funding Review will see more resources distributed to places like Bradford where deprivation is high.
The Government has indicated that, from 2028 onwards, the costs of SEND provision will costs will be managed, in full, within the overall government budget. Local authorities will not need to cover SEND costs from their general funds after the end of 2027-28. The Government is currently consulting on its proposed reforms to SEND.
A national Independent Commission on Adult Social Care is currently working on recommendations for the reform of Adult Social Care. It is scheduled to publish recommendations on the implementation of a National Care Service in 2026 and for wider reform of social care in 2028.
The sector has also called for investment in prevention and early help to reduce the need for costly crisis interventions, support to utilise the transformative power of digital technology, and for greater devolution of resources and powers. These would present opportunities for local government to innovate, transform and help deliver innovative cost-effective solutions to national challenges. Bradford, with a growing data and analytics offer focussed on prevention and early help, significant local AI capacity, nationally important potential for economic growth, and as part of a West Yorkshire Combined Authority which is set to see a deeper devolution deal, would be well positioned both to shape and to benefit from these opportunities.