The financial crisis and decades of uncertainty over local government funding mean that the pressure on local government budgets is unrelenting. It is a notoriously complex system and will take time to understand properly; as a new councillor, your first opportunity to get to grips with council finances may be through serving on a scrutiny committee.
We have picked out a few items from our huge library of local government content that we hope will provide you with inspiration, ideas or just food for thought and make you want to delve deeper into the LGIU’s local government resources.
This page is part of LGIU’s resources for new councillors.
Backgrounder: the essentials of local government finance in England
Sometimes you just want to know the essentials – the background to a subject – either because you are fairly new to it or you need a bit of a refresher. LGIU’s backgrounders give you that and this one focuses on providing newly-elected councillors with a short, non-technical introduction to the main features of local government finance in England. Read the backgrounder.
LGIU Training: Finance
LGIU’s finance curriculum is made up of three sessions which can be booked individually – if you’re new to the subject then get on our Introduction to local government finance session – or combined to provide you with all the skills and tools you’ll need. Find out more and book your places.
The state of local government finance 2023: survey results
For the past 12 years LGIU has been surveying chief executives, directors of finance, and council leaders and cabinet members to reveal an annual picture of local government finance and how those on the inside view the situation and the challenges. Read the results of the 2023 survey.
2023 Budget: a deeper dive into the implications for local government
This member-only briefing looks at some of the details in the 2023 Budget that are of particular relevance to the local government community. It includes a short summary of the Budget’s economic context and refers to some subsequent relevant announcements. Read this briefing.
Further LGIU finance work
Local government finance is, as you would imagine, a key part of LGIU output. You can browse through our past catalogue of material on the finance topic page. Go to topic page.
Keep up to date on local government finance with LGIU
The LGIU has extensive resources for both councillors and local government staff. The easiest way to keep up-to-date with what’s available is to sign up on our website (it’s free and easy to do) and opt to receive one of our newsletters.
If you are from an LGIU member organisation then you will automatically get access to all of our member-only resources when you sign up. Make sure you opt for ‘The essential resources’ update – it’s a key part of your council/organisation membership.
