NORTH Yorkshire local authority leaders and the MP for Richmond have welcomed a better than expected Government funding deal for councils.
Greg Clark, the Communities Secretary, has announced the final grant settlement for local council spending and North Yorkshire County Council, Hambleton and Richmondshire district councils all benefit.
The announcement follows intense lobbying by Richmond MP Rishi Sunak, other Yorkshire MPs and North Yorkshire County Council leader Cllr Carl Les.
In 2016/17 North Yorkshire will receive £9.18m more in Whitehall grant than originally proposed. Hambleton will receive an extra £470,000 and Richmondshire £303,000. All three councils will receive more money than expected in 2017/18.
Mr Clark also announced a fair funding review of local council grants which is expected to benefit rural authorities with ageing populations – like North Yorkshire. The review will address the growing cost of providing services for the rising numbers of elderly people and also a longstanding gap between better-funded metropolitan areas and rural authorities.
Mr Sunak said: “I met Mr Clark to press the case for local councils in my constituency so I’m very pleased he has announced these changes to grants which ease the current difficulties they face.
“Also, the fair funding review should address the particular issues that councils like North Yorkshire face in providing quality care services to increasing numbers of widely dispersed elderly people.”
Mr Sunak added that the numbers of elderly people were rising faster in rural areas than cities and funding arrangments needed to reflect that.
North Yorkshire County Council leader Cllr Carl Les said: “We welcome yesterday’s funding announcement. In particular we would like to thank our county’s MPs who have helped to champion the cause of rural councils and the need to create a fair settlement between urban and rural areas.
“The increased funding at the start of our savings programme means we can make more measured decisions with the communities we serve.”
The Deputy Leader of Richmondshire District Council, Cllr Ian Trelfall, said the final settlement was good news.
“Mr Clark’s announcement was welcomed with open arms at our coprporate board meeting this week. It will help overcome short-term difficulties in the transition to the new funding arrangments for local government.
“The review will also help to address the disparity between urban and rural areas and the challenges we face in providing services in such a deeply rural area.”
The review is part of a shake-up of way local councils are funded. Direct grants from Whitehall are being phased out in favour of a system whereby councils keep all the business rates raised in their area.