Andrew has welcomed the new proposals from the Government on rural funding, which were announced this week. Andrew and other local MPs have been campaigning for increased funding for local authorities and that our area gets a fair deal under any new funding arrangements.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Greg Clark MP, announced this week that the Government would be taking a number of measures to assist local councils following the recent consultation on the provisional Local Government Financial Settlement.
The Government’s provisional settlement, set out in December, would have reduced the overall amount of central government funding for rural councils by over 31% over the four year period, whereas urban councils would only have received a 22% average cut.
The new measures will support rural councils during the transition to full business rates retention and includes £150 million in transitional relief for the most-affected councils for each of the next two years, of which £32.7 million will go to rural areas. There will also be an increase in the rural services delivery grant to £80.5 million this year, up from £15.5 million.
Under the new proposals, the East Riding of Yorkshire will receive additional funding from central government of £2.15 million in 2016/17 and an extra £1.45 million in 2017/18 compared with the provisional settlement.
A Fair Funding Review will be carried out, which will inform the move to 100% business rates retention scheme. The new assessment will be an opportunity to highlight the particular needs of rural areas.
According to research by the Rural Services Network, on average residents in rural areas currently pay £81 more in council tax than their urban counterparts, earn less, and yet see urban residents receive 45% more in central government funding for their council services.
It has been nearly 10 years since the current formula was looked at thoroughly and this review will take into account demographic pressures affecting particular areas – such as the growth in the elderly population – and how they have affected different areas in different ways.
Andrew reports, “I’m pleased that the Government has listened to our concerns about funding for rural areas and the need for greater consideration of the pressures on our local services. The provisional settlement wasn’t good news for rural areas and therefore I welcome these new proposals.
“For years the Goole area hasn't received anything like the same amount of per head Council funding as places like Hull and Doncaster. This is deeply unfair and I am pleased that we now have a Government which has recognised that the East Riding now deserves a fairer share of the funding available.
There’s still more to be done though and I will work closely with local MPs and ministers to champion our area and ensure that the review properly takes into account the key pressures affecting rural areas.”
