PwC: Budget contains warnings for local authorities

Yesterday's (April 22nd) Budget announcement suggested that local authorities need to take action immediately in preparation for problems that may occur in the medium term.

This is the inference made by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which outlined the potential implications of chancellor Alistair Darling's speech to the House of Commons today.

'We believe that the signals it provides towards a tougher time in the medium term are warnings that any Chief Executive needs to take onboard and start work on now,' remarked Steve Beet, Head of Local Government at PwC.

He claimed that the Budget 'offered mixed messages' on the whole for local government, but suggested that the signals were nevertheless important, with the community agenda at the heart of the issue of how to cut costs now but still prepare for future economic growth.

In its 2008 annual report, PwC revealed that it had made improvements in client satisfaction, with its statistics showing a score of 8.51 out of ten for the year, up from 8.25 in 2007.