Lambeth Council will report a £43.2m funding gap at tonight’s cabinet meeting, as local authorities continue to “bear the brunt” of Government austerity.

The council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), which will be presented tonight, outlines the council’s savings plans for the next two financial years, with a strategy on how to address the funding gap to be worked on in the summer.

The council has already committed to £18.4m of revenue savings for this financial year, with the £16.8 m of savings identified by the previous administration for 2020/21, to be “revisited,” according to council documents.

“Over the last decade local government and locally delivered services have borne the brunt of austerity,” the documents read.

“Local government has suffered a much steeper decline in central Government spending than any other section of government.

“Lambeth itself has experienced a drop of more than 50 per cent in core government funding, one of the highest in the country. This is despite a growing demand for our services.”

The documents outlined how Government announcements, including a review of funding allocations for local authorities and the percentage of revenue from business rates which will be kept locally, could impact funding.

The council had benefited from the Local Government Financial Settlement, an annual setting of funding from central government, which saw a one-off Adult Support Grant of £943,000 for the council and a boost in  New Homes Bonus funding, according to documents.

The strategy will help the council manage cuts to funding that may occur in the future.

“We will work to keep our MTFS organic so we can respond to any changes that occur, but having a longer strategy allows us to plan and manage risk more effectively over a number of years,” the documents read.