Local government

That this House notes the important role of local government in providing services to communities; further notes that, regrettably, councils currently face a funding gap of £3.19 billion; expresses strong concern that the serious depletion of councils’ reserves will lead to vital services being cut; further expresses concern that, as a consequence of energy costs and other inflationary pressures on council budgets, the gap is likely to grow to over £5 billion by 2024-25; and calls on the Government to commit to providing additional resources in order to ensure that local government is properly funded to prevent the problems that will inevitably follow from the funding gap.