Cutting cultural services in the wake of austerity: the soft underbelly of English local government spending

Dom, B ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0889-2571, Collins, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9805-9091, Jones, M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0802-6470 and Murphy, P ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8459-4448, 2025. Cutting cultural services in the wake of austerity: the soft underbelly of English local government spending. In: UK Association for Public Administration (UKAPA) Conference 2025, Ulster University, Belfast, 11-12 September 2025.

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Abstract

Local Authorities (LAs) have faced increasing financial and service demand pressures since the 2008–09 Global Financial Crisis, which was exacerbated by disruptive events such as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines how LAs in England responded to these pressures, focusing on Cultural and Related Services (CRS) – a largely discretionary yet socially important service area. Using longitudinal data visualisation and semi-structured interviews, the research explores the extent of reductions in CRS and evaluates LA responses using Barbera et al.’s (2017) financial resilience framework. Results show that although austerity limited CRS provision, some LAs adopted coping and anticipatory strategies to maintain service delivery. Moreover, while initial responses largely relied on short-term coping capacities, some LAs developed anticipatory approaches to strengthen their financial stability. This study contributes to public management literature by demonstrating how fiscal shocks reshape service priorities and governance reform. It offers practical insights into how LAs can better manage discretionary services amid ongoing austerity and paves the way for future research into the sustained delivery of discretionary services.

Item Type:	Conference contribution
Creators:	Dom, B., Collins, A., Jones, M. and Murphy, P.
Date:	September 2025
Identifiers:	Number Type 2498051 Other
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	25 Sep 2025 15:00
Last Modified:	25 Sep 2025 15:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54431

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