Councils have now set budgets for the coming year. Despite extra funding from central government, every local authority has a gap that must be filled by budget cuts or spending reserves.

There's also uncertainty because we are in both a general election year and many local authorities will be holding elections in May. We'll be looking in detail on how councils can navigate a way through the coming months. What options do they have?

Joining us to give expert insights are Joanne Pitt CIPFA's lead for local government policy and Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis. Also sharing insights on potential local authority responses is Justin Galliford, chief executive of Norse Group.

A crux issue has been deciding what counts as a statutory service. We’ve got some clear advice on how to come to a definition on this that works for councils. There’s also advice on audit and how to deliver vital services. There’s also thoughts on navigating elections plus what the government needs to think about. It’s a packed – and very useful edition.

This podcast is in association with Norse Group.
https://norsegroup.co.uk/