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The annual round of government grants announced on Thursday was “broadly in line with expectations” said Herefordshire Council Leader Roger Phillips but not enough to alleviate the pressure on the Council.
The grants – called Revenue Support Grant and National Non Domestic Rates – come from Central Government and usually account for around two thirds of the authorities annual funding.
Cllr Phillips said the provisional settlement was in the vicinity of what was expected but not sufficient to meet all the challenges facing the authority nor ease budget pressures.
Cllr Phillips added: “It’s not as bad as we feared but not as much as we’d hoped for and does not compensate us for the problems Herefordshire faced last year following the introduction of a new method of equalising resources nationally that effectively moved funding away from rural areas to urban areas.
“The second stage of the Council Tax rise, deferred from last year and a direct result of Government cuts, will have to be implemented in April 2004.
“On the positive side, Central Government has increased by 5.8% the amount which it considers we need to spend on service provision and has increased our grant by a similar level.
“The settlement requires further detailed analysis to be sure that there is no ‘sting in the tail’ and the Council will have to wait until January 2004 when the final grant settlement figures are announced.
“Therefore, it is far too early to predict with any certainty the Council Tax increase for next year. “
Government grant provisional settlement
The annual round of government grants announced on Thursday was “broadly in line with expectations” said Herefordshire Council Leader Roger Phillips but not enough to alleviate the pressure on the Council.
The grants – called Revenue Support Grant and National Non Domestic Rates – come from Central Government and usually account for around two thirds of the authorities annual funding.
Cllr Phillips said the provisional settlement was in the vicinity of what was expected but not sufficient to meet all the challenges facing the authority nor ease budget pressures.
Cllr Phillips added: “It’s not as bad as we feared but not as much as we’d hoped for and does not compensate us for the problems Herefordshire faced last year following the introduction of a new method of equalising resources nationally that effectively moved funding away from rural areas to urban areas.
“The second stage of the Council Tax rise, deferred from last year and a direct result of Government cuts, will have to be implemented in April 2004.
“On the positive side, Central Government has increased by 5.8% the amount which it considers we need to spend on service provision and has increased our grant by a similar level.
“The settlement requires further detailed analysis to be sure that there is no ‘sting in the tail’ and the Council will have to wait until January 2004 when the final grant settlement figures are announced.
“Therefore, it is far too early to predict with any certainty the Council Tax increase for next year. “