Councils’ high-cost services to be transformed through £91m fund
Temporary accommodation, adult social care and other expensive services will be improved and made more efficient across 14 councils
Councils struggling with high-cost services will benefit from a funding boost to help modernise services, harness AI and reduce their reliance on emergency support.
A total of £91 million has been confirmed today (15 Sep) to go to 14 councils in England that already receive Exceptional Financial Support, a mechanism to help councils under the most severe financial pressure balance the books.
Over the next two years these authorities will be able to invest in planned projects that modernise the most intensive and expensive service areas, helping to put them on a sustainable long-term footing and helping break the cycle of dependence on exceptional support.
Projects being funded include in Redbridge, where AI-powered technology will help people live independently for longer through home-based devices that can detect and prevent falls, and in Stoke-on-Trent, who are helping redesign frontline social work, introducing a new model focused on keeping families together.
Other councils being supported include Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Haringey, Havering, Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly, Lambeth, Redcar & Cleveland, Sefton, Stoke-on-Trent, Trafford, Waltham Forest and West Berkshire. The money will be spread across two financial years, with £41m funding to be allocated across 2026-27 and £50m across 2027-2028.
Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth, Jim McMahon OBE said:
“Councils have been under enormous strain from a broken funding system and spiralling demand for services like care and temporary accommodation.
“That’s why we took action from day one to fix the foundations by addressing the causes of those issues, from reforming the outdated local government funding system to tackling homelessness, challenges with children’s services and in the SEND system.
“This targeted support for councils facing the toughest pressures is the next step forward, helping end reliance on emergency funding and providing a blueprint for reform across local government.”
Other initiatives being funded include:
- In West Berkshire where families will get one easy way to access children’s services, whether that’s for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), Early Help or Children’s Social Care, so they don’t have to navigate different systems, and different teams can work together to sort out the right support faster.
- In Brighton & Hove running a pilot to bring its ‘reablement service’ (staff who help people recover skills and independence after a hospital stay or illness) closer together with NHS services, so people get joined-up support and go home sooner rather than needing higher levels of care.
- In Trafford using better technology, including AI, to make services smarter and easier for residents. This includes moving to a modern, more reliable computer system that brings all the council’s information together in one place, so different teams can work together more easily and give people better support when they need it, such as when applying for services or reporting an issue.
- In Haringey tackling temporary accommodation pressures by buying homes, relying less on external providers, helping more people move on into settled housing, and joining up services to better support people into longer-term accommodation.
- In Bradford improving how SEND transport works, making sure we have enough places and support available, meeting our legal duties to families, providing educational psychology support, and resolving disputes more effectively.
The initiatives are designed by individual councils to meet their needs, with the approach also designed to benefit councils across the country in the long term. Lessons learned from these authorities will help the government understand what works and what doesn’t, and ensure future funding is targeted more effectively towards the services local communities rely on most.
By streamlining and modernising costly services through broader reform, councils will be better equipped to focus on what matters most to residents, from delivering high-quality social care and support to providing safe, secure housing.
Today’s announcement builds on the last two years of work to put local government funding in England on a more sustainable footing.
This includes grants such as the Recovery Grant, Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant and the Children and Families Grant, which all aim to provide support to local authorities and their communities.
In February, the government delivered the first multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement in a decade, with a fairer and simpler approach to allocating funding for day-to-day services that puts money where it’s needed most.
This was alongside major reforms to high-cost services including children’s services, homelessness and rough sleeping, and action to resolve Special Educational Needs and Disabilities deficits by writing off 90% of councils’ historic debts.
Council funding allocations across 2026/2027 and 2027/2028
- Bradford: £12.7m
- Brighton and Hove: £6.4m
- Haringey: £4.79m
- Havering: £6.75m
- Isle of Wight: £6m
- Isles of Scilly: £1m
- Lambeth: £6.6m
- Redbridge: £7.5m
- Redcar and Cleveland: £4.8m
- Sefton: £6.2m
- Stoke on Trent: £9.14m
- Trafford: £7.5m
- Waltham Forest: £6.14m
- West Berkshire: £5m