Less than half of councils think they will meet minimum legal duties by 2028/29: LGA research

According to the LGA, survey results also showed that eight in 10 councils feel they will be able to meet their minimum legal duties in 2026/27, with this number halving to 43% by 2028/29.

The new research found that 34% of local authorities – and almost half of all social care councils – predict that they are likely to have to apply for exceptional financial support in order to set their budgets at some point in the next three years.

The research, which took responses from 154 chief financial officers out of the 315 English principal authorities, also revealed that almost six in 10 councils predict it will be "fairly" or "very" difficult to set a balanced budget in 2026/27.

More than a third (34%) of councils have already applied or are very or fairly likely to apply for Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) in at least one of the financial years between 2026/27 and 2028/29, according to the survey.

However, the LGA has said these arrangements are not a sustainable way of managing council finances and plugging funding gaps and has called for the Government to provide a "significant" increase in resources.

The LGA said government also needs to commit to deeper, long-term reform of local government finance, including a cross-party review of council tax, business rates retention and other funding sources.

Councils also urgently need clarity on SEND funding and a credible plan to address growing high-needs deficits, which are the result of structural under-funding, the LGA said.

Each year, local authorities’ core funding allocations for the forthcoming financial year are announced by the Government in the provisional local government finance settlement, usually in December.

Following consultation, allocations are confirmed in the final settlement published in February.

Cllr Louise Gittins, LGA Chair, said the research "underlines the reality facing councils", adding: “Councils are doing everything they can to protect the services people rely on but demand and costs continue to rise faster than funding, leaving many with no choice but to consider emergency financial support.

“Short-term fixes will not address these challenges. Councils need sustainable funding and reform so they can focus on prevention, growth and delivering the services communities expect.”

Adam Carey