More than 100 MPs from various parties are backing a UNISON call for more money to tackle the crisis in local government services in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget this afternoon.
They have signed a UNISON open letter to the chancellor calling on him to increase the levels of central government grants to local authorities and reinvest the surplus generated from business from business rates, giving the money back to local councils to assist with the social care funding gap.
“We would like to stress the urgency of this situation,” says the letter, “as councils across the country are forced to make difficult decisions to close children’s services, cut housing support, and even struggle to collect council tax on time.”