Councillors warn council tax bills in Northumberland set to rise as part of Government’s new funding formula

While MPs have hailed additional cash for the council, local Tories say cuts will have to be made.

The Government says the new settlement, which sets out council funding for the next three years, marks a “turning point” to cut deprivation – with hopes councils will be able to “bring back libraries, youth services and community hubs”.

However, leading councillors in Northumberland fear rural counties are losing out at the expense of metropolitan areas.

In a joint statement, Hexham MP Joe Morris, Cramlington and Killingworth’s Emma Foody and David Smith of North Northumberland said the county council would receive an additional £102million between 2024 and 2029, with an additional £25million already allocated last year. However, this presumes councils will increase council tax by the maximum level allowed for the next three years.

The statement read: “This is contrary to scaremongering from Conservative councillors over the past weeks, whose warnings about cuts have proven to be nonsense. They now have millions more to invest in our local services.

“This is a multi-year settlement, which means long-term certainty for Northumberland County Council. Local councillors now have the resources and stability to deliver for residents instead of scoring party political points on residents’ time.

“We’re pleased that funding is being properly allocated, with the wealthiest areas now contributing to counties like Northumberland where a mix of rurality and deprivation creates unique problems. The broadest shoulders should always bear the greatest burdens.

“Our challenges need proper funding support, whether SEND, adult social care, or school transport, and this extra hundred million pounds recognises that.”

Between 2010 and 2023, the Conservative Government cut funding to Northumberland by £130.18million in real terms.

Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery added: “For months now, Tories in the council have been scaremongering suggesting that the government were taking finances away from our county.

“Today’s Local Government settlement proves that this was always a nonsense. A nonsense peddled by those who have slashed services and diverted resources from communities who needed them.

“Whilst we have a long way to go to reverse the damage done to our communities from nearly a decade and a half of Tory misrule, this is a welcome start. Northumberland has unique challenges with a blend of rurality and hardship, making delivering services expensive and complex.

“I am very happy to see deprivation put back at the heart of the funding formula and to see the council getting a significant uplift in finances from the Government. We now need a commitment that the funding we receive is properly allocated.

“The funding injection is aimed at restoring pride and opportunity in places that have been left behind, to get back what has been lost. Councils will have more resources available to bring back libraries, youth services, clean streets, and community hubs.

“With the uplift in financing driven by deprivation in South East Northumberland, and our communities having suffered most from a decade and a half of austerity, we need to see a huge chunk of the additional funds spent here.”

And Northumberland Labour leader Coun Scott Dickinson added: “After years of austerity and chronic underfunding, this settlement represents a clear change in direction. A £102.8million uplift – a 25% increase – gives Northumberland the chance to move beyond firefighting and start rebuilding the services our communities rely on.”

Labour say that funding for the council increased by just 6% from 2015-2020 under the Conservative Government – in comparison, the current Government is increasing funding by 25% over a similar period.

However, the additional £25million granted last year was deemed insignificant by the Tory leadership, particularly after the loss of the £3.2million rural services delivery grant.

Reacting to the new settlement, cabinet member for finance Councillor Nick Oliver said: “Our initial assessment suggests that the funding settlement will leave our council with a budget gap of between £8million and £10million next year – even after delivering planned efficiencies of £27.4million.

“The Government’s calculations of increased core spending power for Northumberland forces us to make the maximum permitted increase of 5% to Council Tax in each of the next three years. That means more than 80% of the forecast increase in core spending power will be funded by local taxpayers – this is the largest forced increase in local taxes in living memory.

“Whilst there’s a small cash increase in our funding allocation, we face much higher cost pressures from rising demand for children’s and adults services plus inflation, which increases the costs of all the everyday supplies the council needs to buy to keep frontline services going.

“Most disappointingly, government has chosen to direct significant funding to urban areas through the recovery grant and, other than for adult social care, has removed the ‘remoteness’ element of the area cost adjustment, which reflects the higher costs incurred by councils such as ours in providing services across our very large county.

“It’s becoming clear that recent changes in Government’s initial funding proposals will benefit London and metropolitan areas at the expense of rural counties and I believe this raises serious questions about fairness in how funding to councils is allocated.”

Council leader Glen Sanderson added: “I believe that sadly politics has got in the way of facts again – the so-called increase of £100million is money over five years, not one, and 80% of that will come from the Council Tax residents’ pay.

“The consultation on these funding proposals runs to 14th January and we will be making our views known to Government in the strongest possible terms. I would also call on our local MPs to support us in making the case for a final settlement that is fair to all areas.”