In this episode of The Star Chamber Podcast, Marcus and Michael are joined by Owen Mapley, Chief Executive of CIPFA, to explore one of the defining questions facing local government today: how do we shift from short-term firefighting to long-term financial sustainability?

We begin with the latest sector headlines — from the latest analysis on Exceptional Financial Support and implications of the delay to SEND reform, to expectations ahead of the upcoming Budget. With limited fiscal headroom and rising pressures in areas such as social care and homelessness, we consider what the Budget may mean for local authorities and the wider reform agenda.

Our deep dive looks at the structural challenges shaping local government finance – the implications of constant firefighting and how authorities are responding to move towards longer term financial sustainability. Owen shares insights on the role of CIPFA’s standards and frameworks in supporting that shift, and the aspects of what a reformed, sustainable funding model could look like in practice.

Finally, our idiosyncrasy takes us back to the People’s Budget of 1909 — a moment when fiscal policy became a moral battle over the future of the welfare state. With Churchill declaring it a “war Budget” against poverty and squalor, we explore how the tensions of that era, reform vs tradition, redistribution vs restraint, still echo today.