Council leaders calling on Prime Minister to bridge funding gap
Council leaders are calling on the Prime Minister to bridge the funding gap faced by counties - in order to meet the increasing demands and costs for adults and children care.
In an open letter to Boris Johnson, more than 30 leaders of England’s largest councils said shire counties were now missing out on £3.2bn of funding per year, compared to other parts of England.
Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire County Council, was among those to sign the letter and said urgent action was needed to redress the balance between counties and cities.
Councillor Atkins said: “The good news is we are all living longer, but that in turn means we have an ever increasing number of frail elderly residents. As a result of this, the costs of providing care to the most vulnerable adults and children in Staffordshire has increased by more than £100m in the last decade, at the same time when national funding has continued to fall.
“We have stripped back the running costs of the county council, but with record spending on adults social care, children in our care and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, in the long term the situation is simply unsustainable.
“We have made it clear to Government that while one-off cash injections are welcome, we need a long-term fair solution to ensure counties are funded in the same way city and urban areas have been for some considerable time.”
County leaders say historically lower funding means counties typical receive 46 per cent less than cities per person and 60 per cent less compared to inner London areas.
They also say the unfair funding has contributed to a ‘perverse’ situation whereby some councils can keep council tax rates as low as half of what residents in counties are being charged yearly – alongside giving them a greater ability to protect and invest in vital public services.
Although Staffordshire County Council’s council tax remains one of the lowest county council taxes in the country, some residents in London pay £700 for their Band D council tax compared with an average of £1,450 in Staffordshire, including the district councils.
The County Councils Network say even if county local authorities received no further reduction next year and raised their council tax by three per cent, these 36 councils would still face a £2.1bn funding black hole next year. Over the next five years, these councils face a total funding gap of £11.2bn; nine times greater than councils in the capital.
