Council spending on libraries, culture and tourism has been reduced by almost £500m since the onset of austerity, new research shows.
Analysis by the County Councils Network (CCN) found that in 2010-2011 – the beginning of austerity – councils in England budgeted to spend almost £1.6m. However, accounts for 2023-2024 reveal that dedicated spending has plummeted by nearly a third over the last 14 years to £1.1bn.
Despite widespread acknowledgement of their social and economic value, the report found that it was “extremely hard” for councils to avoid slashing budgets for cultural services, but attributed the rising costs of social care.
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In a further setback for cultural and heritage funding, it added that ongoing demand pressures and forecasts of huge budget overspends, meant a further round of reductions in funding for cultural services in 2024/25 was being proposed by some county councils and county unitary authorities.
