Government short-changes Herefordshire in funding settlement
Herefordshire has received its provisional funding settlement for the next financial year from the government.
However it falls short of the amount of money the council should be getting to provide services.
This is the second year of a two-year settlement and while the government has increased its share of funding for unitary local authorities nationally by 4.2 per cent, it has allocated Herefordshire an increase of just 3.4 per cent – which is the equivalent to £1.58 million.
The increase is for services excluding schools, such as caring for elderly residents, managing the environment and maintaining the roads.
But the council states it is suffering from a government allocation process that ignores the fact that the delivery of public services in a rural environment is considerably more expensive.
Herefordshire has a higher proportion of people living in very sparse areas – or 0.5 people or less per hectare – than any other county.
Councillor Mike Wilson, cabinet member for resources, said: "The increase falls short of the average allocated across the country and the future continues to look challenging.
“Herefordshire is stretched to deliver services throughout a large, sparsely populated area, and we are committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities”.
Herefordshire has an added pressure on its local public services as forecasts show a 20 per cent rise in numbers of retired people living in the county by 2011.
The increase is much larger than that expected for this age group in England and Wales.
“Despite the pressures, the council is recognised by government inspectors as providing services that represent good value”, added Councillor Wilson.
“The council continues to be prudent in how it manages money. In the current financial year for example we have made £3.5 million in efficiency savings.
“The government is stressing that council tax increase must be kept low and the council is committed to that. Although, the government funding is 20 per cent lower per head of population than the average for similar authorities, Herefordshire has a lower than average council tax.”
The council is lobbying for a fairer funding system and is seeking to influence the forthcoming three-year funding settlement for local government that commences in 2008.
