3 An overview of local government finance

If you decide to stand and are successful in being elected, you will be a member of a council responsible for setting a balanced budget and spending hundreds of millions, if not billions, of pounds of public money.

To be an effective councillor you will need to able to make choices about where and how the council spends this money. Understanding the financial context is crucial for appreciating the challenge that councillors face in balancing budgets and sustaining services.

All the statutory and discretionary services that your council provides need to be paid for. It is important to understand how councils are funded and some of the limitations that they have in being able to spend their budget as they wish.