Blackpool residents hardest hit by council spending cuts, says research

Blackpool Council said it was having to dip into its reserves to balance the books

People in Blackpool - the most deprived area of England - have suffered from council cuts more than anywhere else in the country, according to BBC research.

BBC Data Unit figures suggest local authorities are struggling to balance their books, with the average council predicted to be £33m in the red by 2025-26, a 60% rise from two years ago.

Blackpool Council is making the biggest per person savings in England of £166.

It has to make cuts of £23m in the current financial year.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the council was trying to close the funding gap by increasing council tax by 4.99% and taking nearly £10m from its reserves.

Councillor Ivan Taylor, deputy leader of the Labour-controlled authority, said it would not be able to keep dipping into its reserves.

He added: "We need the government to provide us with a long-term plan that allows us to adequately prepare for the future and keep services running for our communities.

"Raising funds for services through council tax rises is not the solution. We did not want to increase council tax - it just adds to the burden our residents are already facing - but we felt like we had no choice."

'Levelling Up cash'

The leader of the council's Conservative opposition said the town had benefited from other government investment, including £100m of Levelling Up Funding, and a £40m Town Deal.

Councillor Paul Galley added: "Whilst the headline figure of savings amounting to £166 per person sounds dramatic... [it] doesn't take into account the capital investment grants received by Blackpool Council, worth almost £200m in the last 12 months.

"It's also important to remember that the government grant element of our budget now makes up less than a third of the total budget, with the other two thirds of income being raised locally here in Blackpool."

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: "Councils in England have benefitted from an increase in core spending power of up to £5.1bn in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, with almost £60bn made available for local government overall."

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