Kirklees missing out on funding from government

People in Camden – the best funded area – receive £1,171 each.

But in Kirklees, the council gets only £673 per person from the government to fund services.

If Kirklees was funded at the same rate as Camden it would get an extra £216m per year.

While the cost of living may be higher in north London, Kirklees also fairs badly compared to its near neighbours.

People in Leeds get £696 per head of government funding, Calderdale £717, Wakefield £717 and Bradford £742.

All West Yorkshire areas pale in comparison to the riches handed out to councils elsewhere.

Residents in Newcastle-upon-Tyne have £844 of funding each, while in Middlesbrough – a similar area to Kirklees – residents enjoy £889 of funding per head.

Merseyside receives the most government cash via its councils, with Knowsley getting £1,008 per head and people living within the Liverpool City Council area enjoying £936 each. Those in Halton get £812, Sefton gets £810 per head and St Helen’s receives £799.

The news that residents in 144 other areas get more cash than those in Kirklees is sure to anger many.

Leader of Kirklees Council, Clr David Sheard, said he was lobbying for more cash but government initiatives to withdraw handouts and make councils self-reliant were set to deepen Kirklees’ problems.

The government is set to implement a new system of councils retaining their business rates, but with Kirklees having far fewer large companies than most areas, it will lose out.

And with a large proportion of its domestic properties in the lowest A and B council tax bandings, it already suffers a shortage of council tax income compared to areas with bigger homes.

Clr Sheard said: “There’s not a lot we can do about it other than lobby government for a fairer funding formula. The government used to fund by need but now it just gives us a flat figure and ignores the need.

“All we can do is try to attract more investment, like HD One. That’s why we’re so keen to grow housing and business in our area. We tried to do it up at Ainley Top but everyone objected – I don’t think people understand the situation and what we’re up against.”

Clr Sheard said the £500m investments planned were encouraging but he admitted it was frustrating that things were taking so long to get going.

“We need to see some cranes,” he said. “The time lags for these projects are so long. Everything’s next week and we’d like to see something this week.”

Speaking at a council meeting last month, Lib Dem peer Clr Kath Pinnock, berated the government for its inequitable way of funding the country.

“Of the big metropolitan councils we are the lowest by far,” she said. “It’s about time we started making cross-party noises loud to government that this is totally unfair for the 400,000 people who live in Kirklees.

“We are being done down by a considerable amount of money, therefore our services are much worse than everywhere else. It’s time we stood up and said this is not acceptable.”