Northern Ireland’s councils are spending more ratepayers’ money since they were reduced to 11 on a promise of cutting costs, a new report reveals.
Despite savings being cited as the key benefit of what was billed as ‘the biggest shake-up in local government for a generation’, councils’ spending has increased by 7.8% since 2015.
Analysis a decade ago by PWC forecast savings of £438m over 25 years but a long-delayed report into the impact of local government reform by the Department of Communities (DfC) concludes that overall costs have risen, while at the same time councils claim to have made £21.5m worth of efficiencies.
The report, which is based on information provided by councils themselves and was published on DfC’s website on November 7, says increased spending “should be viewed in light of significant additional functions taken on by local councils as well as the investment in capital infrastructure over the timeframe”.
It says “inflationary uplifts should also be factored into the cost increases”.
However, it is also noted that robust analysis on cost effectiveness of the reforms is “not possible” because the 11 councils don’t use the same “standardised reporting metrics with established baselines” – a shortcoming previously highlighted by the local government auditor.
Yet the report covering the period 2015-2022 concludes that service delivery and governance have improved, while it says there has been greater collaboration between councils and that collectively they have driven “increased investment growth”.
In regards to the transfer of planning responsibilities, the report says the consensus among councils is that the service has “significantly improved” and “increased the sustainability of development”.
It effectively contradicts the findings of a 2022 audit office report that concluded that the planning system “is not working efficiently and, in many aspects, is failing to deliver for the economy, communities or the environment”.
In a separate report last month the local government spending watchdog said the deficit between the income generated by the north’s councils’ and the amount they spend has reached record levels.
Local government auditor Colette Kane’s report highlighted a collective shortfall of £128m and warned that if the trend continued it could “potentially challenge the long-term financial sustainability of the overall local government sector”.
The auditor’s report also reveals soaring levels of absenteeism, with an average of almost 17 days lost each year due to sickness across 11 councils.
Ms Kane first called on the DfC to undertake cost-benefit analysis of local government reform in 2017.
Responding to the delayed publication of the report, she said: “The DfC review of impact of local government reform on service delivery and cost effectiveness had not been formally published in time for it to be considered in the local government auditor report 2024, but the LGA intends to reflect on it as part of her 2025 report.”
DfC did not furnish The Irish News with any comment but its website states: “It is too early in the process to conclude if local government reform has been cost effective or not due to the lack of supporting data and limited scope for councils to fully realise benefits.”
