1,000 letters help make Wokingham’s case to government

MORE than 1,000 Wokingham residents helped push the government into giving councils extra cash, the council leader has said. But, he warned, the funding won’t be enough to cover rocketing costs.

Cllr Stephen Conway thanked those who joined his call to ask the government to change the way it funds councils.

He said it looked as though ‘their and our efforts have been rewarded.’

He gave the thanks on Thursday, January 25 –a day after the government announced a pot of money for councils to spend on social services.

Funding announced by the department for levelling up, housing and communities includes £500 million to be shared among councils for social services.

Soaring costs and demand for children’s and adults’ services are a major factor in councils’ struggles to make ends meet. Nearly two-thirds – 65% - of Wokingham Borough Council’s budget next year is set to go towards this alone.

Cllr Conway has been calling for the government to change how it funds councils, saying they should take into account the costs councils have to pay to provide social services when allocating funding.

He said: “The council has been lobbying government for a fairer funding formular which recognises the true costs of providing adult and children social care.

“The borough’s residents clearly share our view that the council needs a fairer deal from government. Over 1,000 of them wrote to the secretary of state to point out how the current funding formula disadvantages Wokingham.”

Cllr Conway also said local government minister Simon Hoare wrote to him before Christmas acknowledging his argument. But he warned Wokingham’s share of the funding would be unlikely to cover the full costs it faces.

He said: “We do not anticipate that we will receive a significant amount of additional support. Sadly, Wokingham never does seem to, and it will certainly not remove the need to make savings to meet inflation and growth pressures amounting to some £17.3 million in this coming year. But it will help.

He added: “We believe that our residents’ letters played a part in securing this outcome and I’m very grateful for the support they’ve given to their council.”