THE council leader has said councils are ‘screaming with pain’ as budgets are squeezed.

Cllr Linda Thomas called on the Chancellor to end this ‘siege’ on councils after he gave his Spring Statement yesterday lunchtime.

Cllr Thomas said: “The government must end the siege on council budgets and properly fund local services. These are not just my words, it is a united message from local government. I meet regularly with representatives from across the political divide through my role on the Local Government Association. Conservative and Labour-run councils alike a screaming with pain.

“We have already seen budgets that have buckled or are on the brink of bankruptcy.

“We have once again recommitted usable reserves to support frontline services which are really struggling to meet the demand pressures, which are growing daily amidst diminishing resources.

“This is demonstrated by the 600 children in the care of the council and will not put a child back into an abusive home to save money. The 50,000 in the 65s population and the 30,000 informal carers in Bolton.”

“Local government must continue to call for a fair slice of the cake and discard the sticking plaster approach to secure a long-term funding solution for our services.”