Source: City of Plymouth
Plymouth residents should see the benefits of Government proposals to create a fairer system of local government funding that will direct support to areas where it is most needed, Cabinet member for Finance Councillor Mark Lowry says.
The shake-up of the funding system announced today aims to ensure those areas that have been overlooked get their fair share, while also cutting out bureaucracy in allocating funding and providing greater certainty for councils through multi-year settlements.
“The proposals for consultation announced today show that at last we have a government that recognises the devastating impact 14 years of cuts by the previous government have had on councils, who are also struggling with the huge pressures in adult social care, children’s services and temporary accommodation,” Councillor Lowry said.
“It recognises that areas with low historical tax bases from which to raise income also have high levels of need that drive up demand for services. This has put councils close to breaking point, so it is heartening to hear that we could be moving to a fairer system that at last begins to address the bureaucratic and opaque system of funding local government that has left the councils most in need starved of money.
“In Plymouth we have worked hard to protect local services from the sort of devastating cuts seen elsewhere but we have been starved of funding for basic services and have a relatively low tax base compared to better off areas. A fairer funding system that addresses need, combined with a new approach to council tax, should in future bring tangible benefits in areas we know matter to people – keeping the streets clean, cutting grass and keeping roads well maintained.
“While the proposals are very welcome, we need to be realistic. The scale of the challenges facing local government are massive and the demand and cost pressures in areas such as social care are systemic, so we know things won’t change overnight. We will need to continue be ruthless in driving greater efficiency in everything we do but at least now we can be confident that the long-awaited changes to local government finance will finally start to happen and that we have a government that is listening.”