Yorkshire cities complain over Government help to rural councils

Craven Council confirmed the changes to its funding would add £230,000 to the grant it receives from the Government this financial year, equivalent to around four per cent of its budget, compared to the figure it was expecting.

The authority will also be among those to benefit from a new freedom to raise council tax by more than the normal 1.99 per cent limit as long as the increase is not more than £5.

If councillors agree to the move it will raise a further £43,000 for the authority.

Council leader Richard Foster said: “We welcome this recognition of the struggle faced by local authorities due to funding cuts, particularly rural councils such as Craven.

“This releases some of the extreme pressure felt by the council this year.

“However, we still face significant financial pressures over the next few years and we still face the challenge of delivering major income and savings.”

North Yorkshire County Council will see its grant cut by £13 million for the year ahead rather than the £22 million originally proposed.

The Government set out its plans for council funding for the coming financial year before Christmas with authorities across the region seeing falls in the amount they receive from Whitehall as part of George Osborne’s drive to cut the deficit.

But criticism from councils and some MPs on the scale and speed of the cuts led to Local Government Secretary Greg Clark putting forward revised plans earlier this week including “transitional funding” to soften the impact and more help for rural authorities to meet the demands they face.

Yorkshire authorities are now calculating the impact of the announcement as leaders prepare to put their final budget plans before councillors.

Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore said: “Our Government funding has been cut by more than 50 per cent since 2010 and this government are continuing the coalition’s policy of hitting cities like Sheffield, whilst at the same time they have announced plans to bail out wealthy Tory councils who have received next to no cuts over the last five years.

“Next week we will be facing a further £50 million of cuts which brings it to £350 million in total, you can’t lose this amount of money without seeing a significant impact on services.”

Leeds City Council also confirmed it will not receive help to deal with the dramatic fall in its funding from Government.

Council leader Judith Blake said: “The vast majority of councils that benefit are rural ‘shire’ authorities in the South of England.

“Urban authorities and the North fare particularly badly, which is hugely concerning given the extreme deprivation and associated issues cities like Leeds face.

“Leeds saw a cut of £180m between 2010 and 2015, with a further £35m to come next year. As with the way flood defence and transport infrastructure funding is allocated, it really beggars belief the way the Government has gone about distributing this additional money for vital council services.”

The Government has said it wants to scrap grants for councils by 2020 with local authorities financing themselves through council tax and business raates.