Government announces extra £166m for councils: CCN responds

Today, the government has announced it is making an extra £166m available for local government in the final Local Government Finance Settlement.

This is a result of advocacy from the County Councils Network and a cohort of rural MPs. CCN has been working with those MPs and alongside the County All-Party Parliamentary group to make the case for additional resource for local government, helping to arrange meetings last week between those MPs, the Chancellor, and the Local Government Secretary.

Cllr Paul Carter, Chairman of the County Councils Network, said:

“Today’s announcement of an extra £166m for local government is the result of a measured campaign by County Councils Network, supported by county MPs, and county leaders who collectively put forward a persuasive and clear case to the government, which has been recognised and acted upon by Sajid Javid.

“The announcement of funding for upper-tier authorities and rural districts shows that CCN has secured additional resource for councils of all types.

“We welcome the government listening to our case and providing local government with much-needed extra resource to go towards meeting the rising costs in social care, particularly in counties, who have unique pressures as they are home to the largest and fastest growing elderly populations.

“While this funding provides some new resource for this coming financial year we must continue to work with ministers, who understand the enormity of the financial challenges facing counties, to deliver a long-term sustainable and fair funding solution to meet the estimated £2.54bn funding gap for counties.

“The government should therefore continue in the positive vein shown in the recently announced fair funding review consultation and adopt an evidence-based funding methodology that truly recognises growing demographic pressures in counties and the additional costs of delivering services in rural areas.”