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Partial victory for Sutton residents as Government fudge council funding formula
November 30, 2000 12:00 AM
Tom Brake and Paul Burstow's campaign to prevent a Government 'smash and grab' raid on Sutton Councils finances, won a partial victory this week when Ministers announced next year's council funding settlement. Sutton could have lost £1.5 million if a Government cut had gone ahead, but council chiefs are still calculating the overall impact of the Government's settlement.
Earlier this year, the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to every local authority's finance chief to warn them he was not going to update the funding formula with the latest data on wage inflation. In every previous year, this data had been used in the formula to give councils in high wage cost areas the funding they need to pay council staff.
Paul Burstow and Tom Brake raised the issue in the Commons and wrote to John Prescott asking him to reconsider his plan which would have benefited councils in the north at the expense of those in the south-east.
Paul Burstow said;
"This funding victory is great news for residents in Sutton who would have faced £1.5 million worth of cuts in services, or higher tax bills, if John Prescott had continued with his plan to fiddle the council's finances.
"However, it will not be until Sutton's finance officers have finished reading the small print of Prescott's funding deal that we will know for sure that Sutton has received all the funding we are entitled too."
Tom Brake said;
"The pressure we put on John Prescott has paid off. John Prescott has performed a U-turn and decided not to steal £1.5 million from Sutton Council's coffers. Prescott was caught with his hand in the till, trying to take money away from councils like Sutton, to give more money to Labour areas in the north. He was not allowed to get away with it."
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