Live discussion: the future of local government finance

Last week the Communities and Local Government select committee heard evidence from local government leaders about the impact of community budgets in their areas. Fears about the amount of control some Whitehall departments were willing to relinquish came top of the list of concerns, as well as achieving buy-in from all local bodies. Pooled budgets also got a mention at the hearing, as did cross-border and shared services. These are all ideas that have been mentioned before and may become more common as councils take on responsibility for public health. In another debate in the House of Lords last week, Liberal Democrat Lord Shipley, vice-president of the Local Government Association, said cities must be "freed from central constraint" if they are to become economically stable. In our most recent poll we asked you whether decentralisation will give councils more economic freedom – and 83% of you said no. With budget cuts certain to continue, finance departments face a difficult balancing act throughout 2012 and beyond. What is the solution? Will changes to the way business rates are distributed benefit everyone? Are shared services the answer to an over-stretched purse, or is private investment the most sustainable option? Join us from 12pm on Wednesday 25 January to discuss what the financial future of local government might look like. Post your questions and comments now, and join our panel live from midday. Panel John Seddon is managing director at Vanguard Barrie Morris is a director in the government audit team at Grant Thornton UK LLP . He is responsible for the external audit of a large number of local government and health service bodies across the south west. Jon Rowney is head of fair funding, performance and procurement at London Councils Allan Cadzow is assistant director for integrated services delivery at Suffolk county council and is the county lead on troubled families Zach Wilcox is an economic researcher at the Centre for Cities where he focuses on local government finance reform and urban development. He holds an MSc in local economic development from the London School of economics. This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Join the local government network for more news, views and analysis direct to your inbox