15/12/06 - Swindon Short Changed Again

Whitehall has short-changed Swindon Council yet again after it was awarded the joint lowest unitary authority funding increase for the next financial year.

This is the view of the council's cabinet member for resources, Councillor Nick Martin (Conservative, Shaw & Nine Elms), who says that Swindon is in the "fourth division" of Government funding.

The council has been awarded a 2.7 per cent increase in its formula grant, compared to a national average of 3.8 per cent.

And that will see the council receiving £45.411 million next year, compared to the £44.217m for this financial year - a difference of £1.194m.

Ministers calculate each council's funding by using a formula that takes into account population and other factors such as deprivation and prosperity.

Swindon has been awarded the same increase as Portsmouth, Reading, Bournemouth and Southampton, but is some way behind neighbouring Bristol and Bath who have been awarded formula grant rises of 4.9 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.

Coun Martin said: "This equates to a difference of more than £1m and that can start to impact quite significantly on council budgets.

"We intend to deliver an inflation-level council tax rise, but the savings we are having to find are profoundly challenging because we are in the fourth division of Government grants.

"The Government has a fancy formula and, as such, I don't believe they recognise that Swindon is on the M4.

"In terms of pay we are in the same marketplace as Bristol, Bath and Reading, but they treat us like we are in rural Wiltshire."

Coun Martin added that such funding shortfalls will put real pressure on some of the council's targets for the forthcoming financial year.

He said: "The Government is demanding household waste recycling but to deliver we are having to spend £2.1m extra next year as opposed to what we are spending this year.

"We are committed to recycling, but the cost of delivering it would put three per cent on council tax in itself so the block grant given to us can make an enormous difference in helping us to achieve these targets. If we were to get 5.4 per cent we would be a million quid better off and that is why we really have to look to our MPs to argue the case so that in future years we get the right adjustment."

The Labour MP for North Swindon has responded by telling the council to, "stop whingeing and work with him and his South Swindon counterpart Anne Snelgrove to lobby for more money." 

We have had two Labour MP's since 1997, and a Labour Government - how many more years will it take for them to stand up and put the people of Swindon first.  It is an absolute disgrace that once again, their own Labour Government has short changed Swindon. 

The people of Swindon will firstly 'whinge' when they are short changed, and secondly they will boot the Labour MP's out of office.