Over 40 Conservative MPs are among dozens who wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling for extra funding for councils in England to prevent significant slashes to services. The MPs are unified in voicing severe disquiet and anticipate the various funding cuts any local authority may be planning to avoid going bankrupt, including raising council taxes and impairing services. Some well-known former cabinet ministers signed the document. The council funding has been under increasing scrutiny as of late, with specific pressure on costs of vulnerable adults and children care and housing services.
Last November, Nottingham became insolvent, while the government announced the number of funds allotted to councils from April 2022, representing a standard increase of last year’s numbers by 6.5%. The letter to Sunak and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove was coordinated by the County Councils Network and the County All-Party Parliamentary Group. In it, they urgued the government to provide extra funding for local authorities in anticipation of a Commons vote next month.
The group of 46 MPs is made up of 44 Tories, Labour’s Daniel Zeichner, and Sarah Dyke of the Liberal Democrats. It includes former ministers Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Greg Clark, and Damian Green. They were “disappointed” that last year’s autumn statement did not offer any additional funding for councils. However, council leaders wager the government will only provide an extra £750m to alleviate the pressure of the upcoming year, as discussions continue.
Hampshire County Council needs to raise £132m by next April and is, thus, considering shortening services, including shutting down two arts centers, consulting the cessation of paying for all homeless support services, and mounting funding costs for community transportation. The latter includes discontinuing subsidies for Dial-A-Ride minibusses, which receives £500,000 each year, affecting areas and transporting individuals to and from their food shops, weekly outings, and even pubs for meals
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