Papers > By author > Luz Sheilla

The prolonged austerity programme in response to the 2008 crisis led to substantial cuts in public spending in the UK. These cuts have been cascaded down to local governments which have seen the biggest reductions to their budgets in comparison to other government departments. With a decade of austerity after the crisis, there are no signs of local government budgets being restored. This paper examines the structural transformation in the budgets of over 300 local authorities in England on the basis of data for capital and revenue spending on social services as well as the financing mechanisms through which they have been maintained. The paper highlights aspects of financialization and discusses the consequences with respect to future funding strategies and impacts on social services delivered by local authorities.