Michael Gove Just Rolled Out a Fat Cash Package for Local Councils
In a lively session in the House of Commons, Tory levelling‑up secretary Michael Gove announced that councils across England will get an extra £500 million in the coming year. The move comes as social care costs have shot through the roof and many councils are eyeing bankruptcy.
Why the Big Boost?
- The cost of keeping people safe at home and tackling homelessness has skyrocketed because of inflation.
- Local councils are feeling the squeeze and have begged for help.
- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to slash the crisis once and for all.
Gove told MPs that the overall bulge in council budgets for 2025 will reach up to £4.5 billion—a bold “exceptional provision” to make sure local governments don’t go belly up.
What the People Are Saying
When a top executive from one of England’s biggest city councils chimed in, he asked: “Why didn’t you bring this up in the autumn statement?” The answer was obvious—now is the time to act, even if it’s not every council’s wishlist fulfilled.
Meanwhile, council leaders fired up the debate with a team‑up call for emergency action:
- Stephen Holt, the Liberal Democrat chair of Eastbourne Borough Council, urged Downing Street to treat the “nation‑wide crisis” with urgency, or else councils may have to issue Section 114 notices.
- Michael Jones, the Labour head of Crawley Borough Council, slammed the cost explosion, calling the town an “asylum dispersal city by the back door.” He blamed the frozen funding regime for making things worse.
They all agree that the government must step in now or risk the collapse of the entire local‑government system.
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