You are here

Colour:

Financial Management: Economic Downturn

A range of reports and research has been pulled together, which explore the recession’s impact on communities and public services, and suggests responses to mitigate its effects.




CIPFA: After the Manifesto

This CIPFA publication, launched at its annual conference in June 2010, sets out the actions it believes the Government needs to take to build an effective strategy for restoring order and balance to public finances. It urges the Government to act early to prepare the ground for the longer term strategy, which must create simple, well-designed and lasting structures for public service delivery. It also argues that what needs to happen now is for the government to deliver a complete picture of its plans to fully inform debate within Parliament, the public and the markets. Access: 'After the Manifesto: delivering the plan' (PDF file, 16 pages, 198 KB).



Surviving the Crunch

This Audit Commission report, published in March 2010, is the third in a series of publications looking at the impact of the credit crunch and subsequent recession on local authorities. It says that councils must think bigger and act quicker to reduce costs, or funding cuts will cause more damage to services and jobs than is necessary.

Access the full report: 'Surviving the Crunch' (PDF file, 65 pages, 2 MB) and download the 'Appendices' (PDF file, 18 pages, 2 MB).



Financial Management in a Glacial Age

For the SOLACE 2009 annual conference, the Audit Commission produced a paper and presentation called 'Financial management in a glacial age'. The paper draws on a wide range of sources including national reports, public interest reports, and case studies from local government and NHS to bring out the lessons from financial failure for local government.

The presentation outlines key economic and service trends and pressures affecting local government. It draws on the Audit Commission's knowledge of:

  • the impact of the recession from the Audit Commission's published and ongoing research into its 'Crunch' series of reports
  • local government’s readiness in terms of arrangements and resources, to deal with the coming demands
  • what the Audit Commission can learn and is learning from its recent and ongoing studies about how authorities can respond to the colder climate.

Access the paper (PDF file, 12 pages, 290 KB).
Access the presentation (PDF file, 26 pages, 1 MB).



Report: After the Downturn

CIPFA and SOLACE have produced a report: 'After the Downturn – Managing a Significant and Sustained Adjustment in Public Sector Funding' (PDF file, 16 pages, 457 KB). It lays bare the challenge facing public services, in light of the need to pay off the UK’s significant debts which will mean that public services will no longer be able to continue in their current form. The report argues that greater efficiency alone will not be enough to deliver the transformation that is needed. It argues for a new deal in public services where people matter more than process and local decision makers are given the freedom to lead.



Report: 'When it comes to the crunch...'

'When it comes to the crunch...' (PDF file, 104 pages, 2.5 MB) is the second in a series of Audit Commission reports looking at how local authorities are responding to the recession. The report finds that local and national government have made a positive initial response to the recession. But, it warns that councils should prepare for worsening social impact as unemployment rises.

Demand for benefits, welfare and help with debt are growing, and social problems such as domestic violence and mental ill-health are expected to follow as the recession deepens. The report also describes a longer-term ‘third wave’ of the recession, which would see most areas bounce back while others continue to flounder.



Article: Get Set for the Hard Times

Efficiencies alone will not protect services from potentially brutal spending cuts. Steve Freer (CIPFA) and Mike Bennett (SOLACE) describe in an LGC article: 'Get Set for the Hard Times' how a study is mapping the way ahead this is a challenge for the next (three-year) spending round, while others are clear that this is the unrelentingly tough financial backcloth for the public services for the next decade and more.



The CIPFA Manifesto: Better Ideas, Better Public Services

This publication from CIPFA 'The CIPFA Manifesto: Better Ideas, Better Public Services' (PDF file, 19 pages, 442 KB), calls for an urgent debate on improving governance and financial management in the UK public services. It sets out CIPFA’s ideas for improving openness and transparency, making better decisions, providing better information to the public and strengthening accountability.



The credit crunch and regeneration

This research was undertaken by Professor Michael Parkinson on behalf of Communities and Local Government. The 'Credit Crunch Regeneration' report examines the impact of the economic downturn on regeneration in the UK. It presents a mixed picture of the current climate, with some projects stalling, some being scrapped and others going ahead as planned.



LGA Group: Recession Support

The LGA Group continues to lobby for help for councils during the recession. Access the LGA's web resource bringing together all the work that the LGA Group is doing to help councils combat the effects of the economic recession.



Centre for Cities outlook 2009

The spatial dimension to the economic downturn is examined in the latest Centre for Cities outlook. The report argues that all cities will be affected by the recession, but some will fare better than others. Cities with high proportions of jobs in the financial and construction sectors are likely to be worst hit by redundancies and lay-offs. Taking into account the concentration of these jobs in many northern and midlands cities, this suggests that a greater impact may be felt in these areas. The report argues that, with government support and greater devolution of powers to address local economic problems, cities can lead the economic recovery.



No council of despair: positive local leadership in a recession

The IDeA has produced a guide to combating the recession. 'No council of despair' (PDF file, 65 pages, 1,070 KB), provides local councils with a tool that helps develop a response to the local impacts of the recession. The guide recommends that councils take five steps to ensure that their response to the recession is comprehensive:

  • lead and communicate a coherent local response to the recession
  • work towards a vision for the future of their locality
  • gather intelligence on the local impact of the recession
  • build a local plan of action to respond to the recession
  • respond to the new pressures


Crunch Time? The impact of the economic downturn on local government finances

The Audit Commission report: 'Crunch Time?', sets out the challenges facing local authorities as they manage the financial turbulence of the 2008, and examines their concerns for the forthcoming financial year.The report is based on a survey of 145 chief finance officers between October and November 2008, and examines the impact of the economic downturn on local government finances. The research suggests that councils, though facing some difficult decisions in the coming months, are generally well placed to manage the effects of the recession.



Dealing with the recession

CIPFA's Financial Advisory Network (FAN) has published a publication, which attempts to answer some of the questions about what actions local authorities should be considering to tackle these challenging economic times.



Economic diagnostic tool for councils launched

The IDeA has produced an economic diagnostic tool to assist local authorities in fulfilling their enhanced role in place-shaping and promoting economic prosperity. It includes a framework and a set of questions for use in self-assessment or peer review.



Global slowdown: local solutions: LGA - November 2008

The LGA publication: 'Global slowdown: local solutions' looks at real ways in which councils are helping people, businesses and other groups through the difficult economic times, and shows that at a time of an economic downturn, localism and devolution become more, not less important.



Report: 'The Credit Crunch and Regeneration: impact and implications' - CLG, January 2009

Access the Communities and Local Government (CLG) report: 'The Credit Crunch and Regeneration: impact and implications', which suggests that the right sort of long-term leadership and resources will help it come through the downturn.



From recession to recovery: the local dimension: LGA - November 2008

The report, 'From recession to recovery: the local dimension' commissioned by the LGA, analyses the local effects of recession and the impact of the economic slowdown on towns and cities, regions and sub regions in England.



IDeA and LGA recession case studies

The LGA has been working with the IDeA to develop case studies to show how councils have reacted quickly and effectively to help local residents and businesses deal with the impact of the economic slowdown.



Don't Panic! A collection of articles on surviving the credit crunch

This collection of articles, written by advisers and associates of CIPFA's Performance Improvement Network (PIN), sets out some of the issues that local public sector organisations will need to consider when developing their strategies for dealing with the economic downturn. It encourages managers to avoid panicking and ensure they take a longer-term perspective, to ensure their organisations and communities cope well during the recession and are well-placed to thrive once it is over. Access: Don't Panic! A collection of articles on surviving the credit crunch'.



Page information

Site footer

Conseq