Recent and projected UK and Scottish Government measures mean that pressures on public funding for greenspace are increasing in the short to medium term. This risk services' ability to deliver on government policies for the many greenspace benefits for communities, and in combating the climate and biodiversity crises.

The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies' analyses of the UK Government Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement on 23 November suggests a spending squeeze on non statutory and less protected budgets throughout the UK to 2028. Most spending in and on urban greenspace falls into these categories.

The Guardian newspaper (24 November 2023) reported Ben Zaranko, senior research economist at the IFS, as saying:

"Unless you can find some magnificent, heroic productivity improvements in those areas, it seems likely the range and quality of public services would have to suffer at some point".

And as preparations are made for a new draft Scottish Government budget, the BBC reported (26 November 2023) that the Finance Minister Shona Robison told them "The way public bodies work together, the way they deliver services will have to change - the size of the workforce will have to reduce".

The Improvement Services' latest National Benchmarking Overview Report for local authorities shows that by 2021-22, Councils' total spend on parks and open spaces had already fallen to only 63.5% of what it was in 2010-11.