The uncertainty around long term funding must be addressed by the Government, the leader of Lichfield District Council has said.
Local authorities currently receive information about how much money they will receive from Government on an annual basis.
But Cllr Doug Pullen, leader of Lichfield District Council, said longer term agreements were needed to allow councils to more accurately plan for the future.
“We have got used to having a one year financial settlement, but we’re doing everything we can to lobby Government for a three-year financial settlement which would help remove some of the uncertainty and allows us to plan longer term for the future.
“While we get one year settlements, we’ll be concerned about uncertainty because we’re budgeting year-to-year.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council
A mid-term financial report to Lichfield District Council’s cabinet today (7th December) also explores the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cllr Pullen said:
“There are some of our areas where we can see that collection of receipts has dropped through the floor, because naturally lockdown had a major impact.
“That’s really floored, but on the other hand Government did step in in certain key areas to provide support and some of that has helped balance the books.
“Every council will have a variance off the back of Covid because it’s been totally unpredictable.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council
Cllr Pullen told Lichfield Live that while support from Government had been welcome, he was keen to see the council move away from reliance on “handouts”.
“We need to be self-reliant as organisation.
“The only money we have is money that comes from taxpayers and we’ve got to remember that – our money doesn’t exist, it comes from taxpayers.
“We need to make sure we’re creating the right conditions for residents and businesses to flourish and that we are able to provide services off the back of that.
“Self-reliant is about not relying on central Government for handouts.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council
