18-06-2025
The Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report warns of looming financial cliff for councils — the Chartered Institute of Public finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) says government must act before time runs out.
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report Local Government Financial Sustainability, Iain Murray, Director of Public Financial Management at CIPFA, said:
“This report comes at a critical moment and reinforces the growing chasm between the demands placed on local government and the funding available to meet them. Without immediate, urgent and coordinated action, vital services will be placed at even greater risk.
“The PAC rightly highlights that the failure to plan beyond the statutory SEND deficit override, and the impact of new burdens like increased National Insurance Contributions, is creating unsustainable pressure on councils. This lack of joined-up government undermines financial resilience and frontline service delivery.
“This isn’t just a fiscal issue — it has real consequences for vulnerable people, particularly children and adults in receipt of social care and children with special educational needs and disabilities. The government’s recent Spending Review announcements on reform need to have a greater sense of urgency in light of this report.
“We strongly support the PAC’s focus on prevention and outcomes. The current model leaves councils stuck in a cycle of reactive spending, with early intervention services underfunded and overstretched.
“To deliver reform, councils need proper tools, support and coordinated action. The government has a narrow window to act — it must seize this opportunity to restore local government sustainability before systemic failure becomes inevitable.”
Notes to editor
For more information, please contact the CIPFA Press Office press@cipfa.org.