UNLESS the Government takes its foot off the cash-flow pipeline, Wirral Council will be unable to pay for anything other than social care and emptying the bins.

The bleak outlook was given as a new report warned the existing local government funding system in England is "no longer sustainable" while the finance system "lacks accountability" to communities.

The Independent Commission on Local Government Finance said there was demand for councils to be given greater freedom from central government in raising and spending money, with the ability to set taxes to meet local needs.

The review has been triggered by the "near universal acceptance" of devolving powers to Scotland which has "created a rare opportunity to secure devolution within England."

Wirral Council leader Cllr Phil Davies acknowledged the review's findings and said there was a pressing need for change.

Worryingly, the commission warned that without reform, adult social care would take a sharply increasing proportion of local government funding, with councils having to find an additional £4.3 billion by 2020 to manage services at current levels.

Wirral is set to inject an additional £7m into social care, which will be finalised at a meeting of the budget council next Tuesday evening.

However, since 2010 the borough has seen central Government funding for care reduced by around 19% - from £145m to £118m for the current financial year.

Councillor Davies said: "The situation surrounding social care in Wirral is extremely challenging.

"We have an ageing population and many are becoming more and more dependent upon care provided by the local authority.

"Money available for care is going down at the same time as demand is going up.

"The result is a knock-on effect on the health service which picks up the pieces, especially when elderly people have to leave their homes to spend time in hospital."

On the wider issue of funding reform, he said: "There is no clarity about how much money each local authority gets.

"It is supposed to be worked out to a set formula.

"But I fail to understand how Wirral - an area with social deprivation - can experience a cut of £154 per head of population, while in an affluent county like West Dorset that figure is just £2.

"The Local Government Association has warned us that if budget reductions continue at the present rate, by 2020, literally the only things we will be able to afford to pay for will be statutory duties of social care and bin-emptying.

"There will be no money whatsoever for all the other things like highway maintenance, leisure centres and swimming pools."

The commission's chairman Darra Singh stated in the report: "The era of austerity cannot simply mean continual depletion of vital services as demand grows.

"It has to be a time when public services find different ways of working which build the resilience of our communities."

He said local government and the services provided were "on a cliff edge."

He said: "The urgent need for reform is going to be one of the biggest and most important challenges facing the next government. Without it, many of the key services which have been part of everyday life for generations may not be there much longer.

"Nowhere is this more evident than with adult social care, which is facing financial crisis with minimal scope for further efficiencies. 

"The need for English devolution has been acknowledged by all of our major political parties. We have concluded that devolution and reform of the local government finance system must go hand in hand.

"This commission has set out a path to English devolution which we believe is the only way to save public services in an era of reduced public spending and rising demand.

"It is clear that if we want local services to survive and support a thriving national economy, a radical devolution of powers, funding and taxes to local areas is urgently needed."

Commission recommedations:

A "variable speed approach" to reforming the local government finance system, promoting self-reliance and self-sufficiency, with some proposals applying to all local authorities, plus additional reforms applicable to "pioneer" authorities able to reform at a quicker rate.

For those "pioneer" areas the commission urged greater freedom over jobs, care and housing; a single budget settlement for each area; council tax reform; devolution of national taxes such as stamp duty, tourism and airport taxes; plus the establishment of Local Public Accounts Committees to oversee value for money for all public services.

For all areas, the commission recommended the creation of a new independent funding body, plus business rate reform, multi-year settlements and the ability to raise additional revenue.