Council asks government to review its funding

Shropshire Council has asked the government to reconsider how much funding it will get.

Last month, a provisional multi-year financial settlement was published so each local authority could see how much cash it would receive from central government.

Under the proposals, the county's core spending power would rise by £48.1m - from £354.8m in 2024/25 to £402.9m in 2028/29 - but, the authority said this "does not tell the full story".

It said the increases were based solely on council tax rises, which the government assumed would be 4.99 per cent a year - which would see Shropshire Council put up its council tax by £61.5m.

However, the authority said that during the same period the other portion of core spending power reduces by £13.4m.

It is this that prompted the council to ask for the review. It is expecting a response by the government in February.

"When the fair funding review was announced, the government did make a number of commitments – that they would reflect the impact of rurality on the cost of service delivery," said Cheryl Sedgley, strategic finance manager at the council.

"When we had the initial indications of what the formula would look like, it had been suggested there would be a remoteness adjustment that would be applied across all service areas.

"What we've actually seen is that isn't the case. They've only applied the remoteness adjustment to just adult social care."

She said she believed this was partly why the authority had lost money.

"We are basically asking government to re-look at it again so that the costs a rural council are facing, in terms of the pressures that we're experiencing, are reflected appropriately," Sedgley added.

Tanya Miles, the council's interim chief executive, said: "The expectation is that we have to have our income through council tax."

This, said council leader Heather Kidd, makes setting the budget difficult.

"I am not sure the government realises how little we raise through council tax," Kidd explained.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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