With new changes announced by the Labour Government, councils will be funded more fairly based on latest deprivation data and local need, fixing the outdated system left by the Tories.
Under the previous Government, an outdated council funding system based on decades-old data entrenched inequality – leaving some councils on a financial cliff edge and communities in deprived areas facing crumbling services, cuts and rising bills.
Meanwhile, councils in less deprived areas have benefited disproportionately, building up reserves while others struggled to cope.
The changes announced by the Government reverse this injustice and ensure councils will be funded fairly, based on the latest deprivation data and local need, so that communities with the highest demands get the public services they rightly deserve.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan MP for Portsmouth South said:
“Portsmouth residents know all too well that, under the Tories, our city was left behind for 14 years.
“The previous Government neglected communities such as ours, and many others, across the country by providing insubstantial funding for our essential local services time and time again.
“Labour’s pledge to put local need at the heart of council funding will deliver local justice by amending a long-outdated approach.
“That is why I will continue to campaign to ensure that we get the funding and investment our city deserves and needs.”
Announcing the changes, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, said:
“This Labour Government is reforming the funding system that led to regional divides, postcode lotteries, and substandard public services for too many people”
“Our changes will make sure cash going to councils is shared out in a fairer way that follows needs.
“We want every family to benefit from our Plan for Change, and fairer funding means people will soon be able to see and feel the difference in their own local area.”
