Gove wants councils to sell off your family silver — don't let him

It’s really simple. Your local council shouldn’t have to sell off your libraries, tips, and heritage to make ends meet. But with 1 in 5 councils nearly bankrupt and MORE CUTS implied by Hunt's Budget, it’s more of a risk than ever.

Local Government Minister, Michael Gove, wants to avoid reversing the previous 40% cut to local authority funding by giving your council new powers to sell off YOUR public assets.

He has just run a consultation on these plans, with a decision due shortly. This is a key moment to apply pressure. Can you send our template email NOW to demand he doesn’t force councils to sell off the family silver?

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

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I am writing in response to the Budget which has prioritised tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the richest over investing in public service — <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/48815-voters-want-cost-of-living-assistance-more-than-increased-funding-for-public-services">against the view of two-thirds of the public.</a>
I am seriously concerned about your proposals, currently under review after consultation, to allow councils to sell off public property — our property — to plug their funding gaps.
I’m writing to ask you to announce you won’t expand these powers and that council grant funding will be restored to its real-terms level in 2010. My council, like all others, is in dangerous waters. <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/82a841b1-fec7-4ed9-bfae-cfbb537c6b38">1 in 5 councils are on the verge of collapsing.</a> I don’t think opening the door to wider “capitalisation,” so the cash from sold assets or borrowing can fund wider spending, is right.
Places in dire straits, like Birmingham, Bradford, and Nottingham, are selling off community centres, library buildings, and care homes under the current rules. This is already devastating. We can't open up these powers further.
I want to conserve the local monuments, facilities, resources, and buildings that make my community tick. I want to see a long-term approach to public finances, not one built on debt.
Councils have <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/economic-growth/regional-development/2024/01/selling-assets-council-bankruptcies-local-government-funding">felt forced to sell our collective heritage or undermine public services before</a>:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Greenwich Council closed its libraries and sold the buildings in 2021. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Herefordshire Council sold its art collection in 2018.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Northamptonshire Council sold off historical artefacts in 2014.</li>
</ul>
If faced with bankruptcy, what is to stop a council administration from selling off our cultural heritage or closing key public services, like recycling centres or public toilets, to buy themselves six more months? I’m really worried about this.
Councils like mine have lost nearly <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/economic-growth/regional-development/2024/01/selling-assets-council-bankruptcies-local-government-funding">one-third of their spending power since 2010</a>. Is my family really expected to see 1 in 3 of the essential services our council provides cut forever? I have read that the biggest driver in this fall is a <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/economic-growth/regional-development/2024/01/selling-assets-council-bankruptcies-local-government-funding">40% cut to ‘grant’ funding from Westminster</a>.
If you open the door to more sell-offs, I think it will only be a sticking plaster. Councils will run out of cash-generating assets, find it harder to regenerate our communities, and have weaker growth due to poorer public services.
They might even take on risky investments, as in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/02/tory-run-thurrock-council-faces-inquiry-over-exceptional-debt-levels">Thurrock</a>, Woking, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/01/northamptonshire-council-forced-pay-price-reckless-half-decade">Northamptonshire</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/02/tory-run-thurrock-council-faces-inquiry-over-exceptional-debt-levels">Croydon</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/02/tory-run-thurrock-council-faces-inquiry-over-exceptional-debt-levels">Slough</a>. The end result will be the same: councils back on the brink of bankruptcy with people like me paying the price.
While I welcome that you have <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-01-24/hcws206">announced some extra funding for councils</a>, this is nowhere near enough.
That’s why I am asking you to confirm you won’t expand these sell-off powers. Instead, I am asking you to restore local government grants to their 2010 level in real terms.

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