Provisional local government finance settlement 2016 to 2017 and an offer to councils for future years
The Government has published the outcome of its consultation into ‘Provisional local government finance settlement 2016 to 2017 and an offer to councils for future years’
this may sound a bit wordy but it sets out the model for estimating the amount of money each council and fire authority can expect to receive from central government through Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates income. You can read the summary of the consultation here
Page 9 sets out responses to the Governments proposal to pay £20 million additional funding to the most rural areas in 2016-2017 (distributed to the upper quartile of local authorities based on the super-sparsity indicator). While the additional money was welcomed, respondents expressed disappointment that this is back-loaded and does not make sufficient progress in closing the urban-rural funding gap or meeting the additional costs of service delivery in rural areas.
Yet in presenting the document to parliament the Secretary of State, Greg Clark, described “recognising that council services in rural areas face extra costs, I proposed in the provisional settlement that the Rural Services Delivery Grant should be increased from £15.5 million this year to £20 million in 2016 to 2017 – the year of this settlement – and to £65 million in 2019 to 2020”.
The RSN Rural Fair Share Campaign continues with the RSN urging government ministers to change plans that will reduce grants to rural areas at a higher percentage rate than grant reduction in urban areas over the next four years. RSN Chair Cecilia Motley said: “We plead with Government please do not do this. This is a horrible miscalculation. It will make life for hundreds of thousands of people across all areas of rural England totally intolerable.” Councillor Motley added: “Unless they are reversed, the government’s plans will hit hardest those most in need of public services. Those in need of care. Those in need of transport. Those in need of support.”