Council leader hits out at settlement

The announcement of the Government settlement for public services exposes again the unfair distribution of support to rural councils, the Leader of Herefordshire Council claimed.

“Herefordshire Council continues to remain one of the lowest funded authorities of its kind in the Country,” said Cllr Roger Phillips.

Herefordshire Council will receive about £125.1 million from Central Government to cover all the services it delivers in 2006/07.

The grant, which is made up of two parts, council services and education, will mean a 2.4 per cent for general services and a 5.4 per cent increase for schools.

With the Council Tax increase expected to be set below 5 per cent, the money will have to stretch a long way if key services are to be maintained.

The Central Government settlement ranks Herefordshire Council among the lowest in the Country.

In comparison to other similar authorities, Herefordshire Council is 38th out of 46 in overall grant and 45th out of 46 in terms of school funding per pupil.

“The settlement from Central Government is roughly what we expected but is not sufficient to meet the growing and unavoidable spending pressures, especially within social care, bus contracts and waste management.

“Until the Government recognises that the formula it uses to calculate its spending plans for rural authorities such as Herefordshire is unfair, we will continue to face these spending problems year after year,” he added.

“Herefordshire Council has been successful in making efficiency savings and this year alone we will be reporting to government cash savings of £2.5 million.

“Further savings are being identified for next year and these will have a direct impact on keeping the Council Tax increase down to an acceptable but necessary level.”