Professor Steve Schifferes - City University

"Spending cuts for local authorities are particularly large, with a 17% cut in the first two years alone. But the government is increasing the 'freedom' of local authorities to manage their budgets any way they like by abolishing many ring-fenced spending categories. Ministers hope that the public will blame the councils, most of whom are not Conservative-controlled, rather than the central government, for the scale of the spending cuts to local services. At the same time they are urging local councils not to cut 'front-line services' but reduce back office bureaucracy by 'efficiency savings' - the perennial chant of all governments who want to avoid hard decisions about spending.