Friday 4th July, 2014

In a converstation with the BBC this week, the incoming Local Government Association (LGA) Head, David Sparks said that councils in England and Wales should help redesign what he termed as the "totally broken finance system" in operation across the councils.

Last month the LGA warned that councils were facing a £5.8bn shortfall over the next couple of years. However, ministers said that this was unfounded and accused him of scaremongering.

But Mr Sparks said that the current system need to be revamped and redesigned to create something which was fit for purpose. He explained that this could mean a restructuring of how the councils were financed, including retaining a greater share of tax, even a portion of income tax. He added that councils need to given greater control of their finance function.