Councils plan £900m of cuts including children’s services and early years

The worst council cuts are still to come, with more than £900m of reductions set to be made next year affecting children’s services, early years, and youth services, the organisation representing county councils has warned. A survey by the County Council Network (CCN) found that all 36 county council and county unitary authorities will be making cuts, totalling an estimated £918m – an average of £25.5m each – when they set their budgets next February. Rising demand for children’s services and adult social care are among key factors in the increasing financial difficulties county councils are facing, the organisation said. Of the total cuts, £685m will be to balance the books in the face of rising demand, with a further £233m of unplanned cuts to frontline services needed. Read more.