Countywelcomes plans for better council funding
LEADERS at Leicestershire County Council have welcomed a consultation by the Government which could lead to fairer funding for the authority.
As the lowest paid top-tier district council, it is hoped the response to the consultation which suggests simpler funding models and more transparency could slow down the massive cuts faced in the county.
Cabinet members approved a draft consultation response at a meeting recently.
The response said: “Leicestershire County Council welcomes the opportunity to respond to the above consultation.
“As the lowest funded county council, Leicestershire is keenly interested in the Fair Funding Review. The county council continues to press for the development of a funding system which achieves a much fairer distribution of local government funding than the current system has achieved.
“The current system is broken, with little link between the spending power of local authorities and local needs.
“The county council has long acknowledged that logically someone has to be ‘bottom of the league table’ but the gaps between those at the bottom, those at the top and also from the overall average level of funding, have been far too wide for far too long.
“It is imperative that the Government fixes the funding system by creating one that incentivises all councils to be efficient and recognises local differences in need, hence addressing the fundamental problems and unfairness of the current funding situation.”
The current consultation sought views on how the central government should assess the relative needs and resources of local authorities under a new allocation system due to be introduced from April 2020.
The county says if it was funded at the same level as the London Borough of Camden an additional £350 million of funding would be received each year.
Cllr Byron Rhodes, deputy leader of the council, told the cabinet: “The other day I had a meeting with the new Local Government Minister. I was very encouraged meeting him because for the first time I met a minister who seemed to know the subject.”