COUNCILS should have more power over their own finances, a shadow minister has said on a visit to Southampton.

Armed forces shadow minister Luke Pollard spoke out as Southampton City Council is set to ask Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for more money.

The authority's former chief financial officer warned last month it faces declaring effective bankruptcy due to spending, with a £21m shortfall in 2024/25.

Mr Pollard told the Echo "it is all councils that are in trouble at the moment" with most losing "about 60 per cent of their funding from government".

READ MORE: Southampton City Council set to ask Rishi Sunak for cash

Daily Echo: Luke Pollard MP. Luke Pollard MP. (Image: Newsquest)

He said: "Services that councils have to provide, especiHe ally around social care and then everything else from street lighting to bins, have been squeezed.

"Westminster can make better decisions but the best decisions are made closer to the community and that’s for local councils.

"It’s not only power, it's funding that should be devolved. A local council will spend it better than national government will and that should start to reverse some of the consequences of austerity that we’ve seen."

The city council's chief finance officer warned a section 114 notice - effectively a bankruptcy notice - could be issued if finances were not managed diligently.

READ MORE: What we know as Southampton City Council told it could go bankrupt

Deputy council leader and parliamentary candidate for Southampton Itchen, Darren Paffey was with Mr Pollard on the visit.

Cllr Paffey said the council is receiving £160m less from the government than it was previously. 

He said: "Demand for our services has not gone down, if anything for the most crucial services – adult and children social care – it’s gone up.

"Rather than having to go with a begging bowl to Government every time we want to do something to support our communities, that money and the responsibilities should sit with local government where we can make those decisions for the communities that we know."

Cuts have already been made in the city including plans for street lights to be switched off in certain areas in the early hours, the Itchen Bridge toll being hiked for non-residents and a rise in council tax. 

But more savings are needed warned senior council officer John Harrison in February, with the officer branding the council’s budget as “inadequate” due to its use of reserves.

Cllr Satvir Kaur - Labour leader - said: "As a Labour council we’ll keep fighting for our fair share of investment for local people, which is needed now more than ever with this national cost of living crisis."