English councils to remain poorer than in 2010 despite funding rise, says report
Councils in England will still be poorer by the end of this parliament than they were in 2010 despite Labour’s funding increases, according to analysis by the Institute for Government (IfG).Funding cuts from 2010 to 2019 were so severe that they left gaps that could not be filled even by five years of above-inflation increases, leaving local authorities increasingly reliant on emergency funding and capable of providing only legally mandated services, the report shows.The government increased local authority funding by more than 4% in real terms this year, and has promised an increase of more than 1% above inflation each year for the next three years.However, the IfG report suggests the damage done by years of cuts is so severe that many people will not notice any difference to their local services.Stuart Hoddinott, the author of the report, said: “Most public services struggled when spending was cut during the early 2010s, but few as much as local government.
Cuts were so deep that, even with sustained increases throughout the 2020s, funding is still due to be lower in real terms in 2028-29 than it was almost two decades earlier.”Mark Franks, director of welfare at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the report, said: “Over the past 15 years, per person spending on local authority services excluding social care has fallen by a staggering 38%.These cuts have had a direct impact on people’s lives, their wellbeing, and the resilience of their communities.”The report tracked councils’ spending power since 2010, when the coalition government began to slash local authority funding.It found that even with Labour’s spending increases, English councils would have nearly 15% less spending power on average per capita than they did in 2010.
From 2009-10 to 2023-24, the researchers found, councils cut spending on youth centres by 60% and on libraries by 50%, and focused almost exclusively on essential services such as statutory social care, which now takes up more than two-thirds of budgets.The rise in social care spending has been caused by an explosion in demand for statutory services for an ageing population, the rise in numbers of children and working-age adults with complex physical and emotional needs, and the ballooning cost of privately provided specialist care services such as children’s residential homes.One interviewee told the report’s authors that local authorities had become “adult social care factories”.The IfG also found a record number of councils were relying on emergency funding, and that if the government had not delayed a requirement for authorities to account for special educational needs provision, 40% would have been driven to the point of bankruptcy.Hoddinott said that one reason for dissatisfaction with public services was that while money had started coming back into local areas, it was being almost entirely spent on essential services for vulnerable people, rather than amenities used by the general population.
Meanwhile, councils are increasingly using their budgets to pay for costly crisis services such as child protection and children’s homes, rather than preventive services,Spending on looked-after children went up by 71% between 2009-10 and 2023-24; over the same period, investment in early intervention services such as children’s centres fell by 79%,These pressures are being most acutely felt in Birmingham, the country’s largest local authority, which in effect declared itself bankrupt two years ago and is still struggling to balance its budget,The council’s latest figures show it is expected to use £80m of its reserve funds, about 8% of the total, by the end of the financial year, partly owing to a £13,4m overspend and £14m in costs from the city’s continuing bin strike.
That won’t wash: should you rinse your mushrooms?
What’s the best way to prep and cook mushrooms? Should I wipe, wash or simply peel them? Olivia, by email “I could witter on about mushrooms all day,” says fungi fan Will Murray, which is good news, because Olivia’s question is somewhat contentious. The chef and co-founder of Fallow, Fowl and Roe, all in London, even grows his own shrooms, and advises his chefs to clean them “at least three times in bowls of cold water”, which brings us straight to the great mushroom washing debate, which has been rumbling on for years.Writing in the Guardian in 2003, Heston Blumenthal called advice against washing mushrooms in water in case they become waterlogged “nonsense”. He cites Harold McGee, who tested this theory in his book The Curious Cook: “McGee weighed 252g fresh mushrooms, submerged them in water for five minutes, then removed them, blotted the surface moisture and reweighed them.” The result was 258g, which, as McGee noted, is a 16th of a teaspoon of extra water per mushroom
Thomasina Miers’ recipes for mushroom linguine with chard, and poached pears with spiced hazelnut crumble
My farmers’ market (and my beds) are full of swiss chard. It is one of the few edible plants I could cope with this year – it grows with such ease and grows back so quickly after each picking that I feel it is the ultimate kitchen gardener’s friend. It is a great bedfellow for mushrooms, which lend a bit of meatiness to those leaves. With those, I also like to add ancho, a rich, full-bodied but not spicy chilli that is readily available in flaked form in many supermarkets around the country (nora or guajillo are good substitutes), while the feta, like queso fresco in Mexico, adds a lovely, tangy saltiness. It’s a dish for those Sundays when you are low on time, but want a rich, soothing feast
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for lime dal with roast squash and chilli cashews | Quick and easy
This might come as a surprise to some readers, but I am not a fan of dal. There were just two versions that I liked, and both were made by my mother: one with lime and coconut, the other a slow-cooked black dal with cream (even nicer than the Dishoom version). But now a third quick-cook dal has made it into my hall of fame. And the secret? Blitzing it until very smooth, then serving with a topping of roast squash and moreish chilli cashews. It’s a revelation that’s now on my weekly rotation
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I am the scrooge who relishes the end of summer, and who welcomes the darker evenings with open arms. After patiently waiting for tomatoes and aubergines to be done with their performance, autumn brings its own bounty of vegetables back into play, with squash, cauliflower and dark, leafy greens being some of my favourites. They’re ideal for loading into comforting dishes to hunker down with, and lend even the most indulgent meals a bit of goodness.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 10 min Serves 47 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped15g rosemary, finely chopped8 good-quality pork sausages 600g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 3cm chunks 400ml chicken stock 2 560g jars of butter beans 70g sourdough breadcrumbs Salt and black pepper 150g cavolo nero 40g parmesan Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus the juice of half, and optional lemon wedges to serveOver a medium flame, heat three tablespoons of the oil in a large, shallow casserole dish for which you have a lid. Tip in the chopped onion and cook, stirring, for 15 minutes, until softened
How to make cinnamon buns – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
There are few joys quite like a sticky bun. As soft and sweet as an edible pillow, they’re a lovely thing to sink into with a cup of coffee and, though they look impressive, they’re also unexpectedly easy to make at home. This Scandinavian version is cinnamon flavoured, but feel free to change the seasoning to suit your palate.Prep 30 min Rest 1 hr+Cook 25 min Makes 71 tsp ground cardamom seeds (from about 25 pods; see step 1)300ml whole milk 50g butter, roughly cubed425g plain flour 60g caster sugar ¼ tsp fine salt 7g fast-action/instant yeast 1 egg Oil, for greasingFor the filling75g butter, softened50g dark brown sugar 2 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp saltTo finish1 egg, lightly beaten Demerara or granulated sugarGround cardamom is fairly easy to find these days, but if you don’t mind a bit of fiddly work, you should get a teaspoon or so of powder from the ground seeds of about 25 pods. Alternatively, for a milder flavour, use the seeds whole and strain them out of the milk later
Punk Royale, London W1: ‘Someone shoved mystery slop in my mouth’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Punk Royale, from Stockholm, has landed in London promising, or rather threatening, that their rowdy, immersive, 20-course fine-dining experience will destroy all puny British perceptions of posh food. It’s a huge claim from these Swedish punks. Indeed, nearly 50 years after the UK invented punk, with the Sex Pistols effing and jeffing on live TV and provoking a national meltdown, here we have some folk with mullets and Roxette CDs slopping “bumps” of caviar on to my hand shortly after beckoning me into a shoddily decorated, fusty-smelling dining room in Mayfair. It’s all a bit student house and needs a good visit from Mr Sheen. That bump, one supposes, is a playful twist on taking cocaine at a grotty afterparty
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