Local government is facing the 'last throw of the dice' for reforming its finance system, according to the chair of the Commission on Local Government Finance, Darra Singh. After a raft of attempts to shift the balance of funding between central and local government funding - including Sir Michael Lyons' review in 2007 - Mr Singn claims the system is now 'broken' as councils are stretched to the limits under the current fiscal challenges. The current climate, which includes a political will for devolution, the strain on public sector budgets, the need to reform council tax to address rising property values and a resurgence in confidence in the local government sector, has driven the possibility of large scale reform, Mr Singh suggests. 'The challenges are staring us in the face and we just need to try to be more radical,' Mr Singh said. 'This is the last throw of the dice on why reform is needed.'
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