Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, has welcomed the announcement by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government that Staffordshire will receive additional grant funding.
The announcement came after the conclusion of the consultation on the provisional Local Government Financial Settlement.
Following representations made by Gavin, it was confirmed that Staffordshire would receive additional grant funding from central government of £2.77 million in 2016/17 and £2.79 million 2017/18.
The Secretary of State also announced a number of measures, including a Fair Funding Review to look at the underlying formula considering each area’s needs and the costs of delivering services.
There will also be a transitional grant of £150 million in 2016/17 and 2017/18 to reduce cuts to councils with the sharpest reductions in government grant during the most difficult first two years, and the Rural Services Delivery Grant will increase more than fivefold from £15.5 million this year to £80.5 million in 2016/17. This ensures that the government funding gap per head does not grow in the year of the statutory settlement and means that alongside the transitional grant that is £93.2 million extra for rural areas compared with the provisional settlement in 2016/17.
There will be no negative grant for any council in 2017/18 or 2018/19. By 2019/20 100% business rate retention will have come in, informed by the Fair Funding Review. There will also be a £5 de minimis council tax increase allowed for the smallest most economical councils, and a consultation on uprating planning fees in line with inflation.
Commenting on the additional funding Gavin said: “I am delighted to welcome this grant funding from central government of £2.77 million in 2016/17 and £2.79 million 2017/18 for Staffordshire following representations that I made to the Secretary of State. I am glad the government has listened and that residents in South Staffordshire will benefit from these welcome financial changes.”