Wanted: a vision for the future of local government
August 2025
Local councils are being pulled and pushed by the government at the moment, and that’s without the local government reorganisation that’s hanging over them.
In the name of redistributing funding between councils, the government is pulling back on the bonus that has been paid to councils when new homes are built. It also wants to take away the extra business rates received by those councils that do the most to grow their local economy.
Yet all the while, the government is pushing for more housebuilding and pushing the need for more economic growth.
Those councils that have built the most houses in recent years will be those that will see the biggest funding cuts in the government’s Funding Review proposals, according to the District Councils Network.
Stratford-on-Avon District Council is one of 41 councils affected. Many new houses have been built in the District as a proportion of total dwellings. Much of this increase resulted from a council decision, since corrected, to suspend making a local development plan.
Planning appeals by developers resulted in costs against the council of £2.2m as well as widespread development without sufficient infrastructure, such as schools and other facilities. Now the government wants to withdraw any money to put matters right.
Meanwhile, the government has also advised councils that two funding sources will end in March 2026. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) together have been worth more than £4.5 million to this District over the past three years.
Designed to succeed and improve upon EU structural funds, the UKSPF has allowed councils to identify and build on local strengths and meet local needs, focusing on building communities, growing local businesses and developing people and skills. Alongside the UKSPF, the REPF has supported the particular challenges faced by rural areas like ours.
Flooding is an important concern for many towns and villages across the District. However, a recent consultation raises questions about future funding for flood defences. We need to know that there will be investment into flood prevention and flood resilience, ranging from maintenance of existing defences to development of natural flood management, sustainable drainage and property flood protection. The concern is that government may emphasise local fund-raising for such measures.
Cuts to central government grants over the past decade have left local government increasingly reliant on council tax and local charges for their finance. Central government must learn to give local government more power to determine local services for residents.
At a time when the government has instigated the most significant local government reorganisation in decades, the question needs to put – just what is local government for and what should it be aiming to achieve?
Stratford-on-Avon District Council will become part of a new unitary council which will cover all the services currently split between the County Council and the District Council, many of which are required by law. Waste collections, libraries, leisure services, road repairs, street lighting, adult social services, environmental health, park maintenance, children’s services, homelessness services, public safety and many more services – will all come under one roof.
We need a vision for the future of local government. Councils are the ‘Leaders of Place’ and must be ambitious but also fair, inclusive, and responsible; putting our communities at the heart of everything they do.
