English councils facing £2bn 'perfect storm' may be forced to slash services – IFS

Soaring spending on Covid-19 compounds damage from depleted revenue in council tax and business rates

• Coronavirus - latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Councils in England face a 2bn perfect storm" over the next few months and will be forced to cut services if the government does not meet the cost of soaring Covid-19 spending, the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank has warned.

Without additional financial support, councils face a difficult choice between depleting their reserves to low and potentially risky levels or cutting spending on important local services", the IFS said.