£25 million boost to Cheshire councils' budgets next year

Eddisbury MP Edward Timpson has welcomed the Government’s announcement that Cheshire East Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council will see their budgets boosted by an average of 4.3 per cent next year, as part of the Conservatives’ commitment to level up local services across the country and give them the resources they need to support their communities as we recover from the pandemic.

Local authorities in England, including the two Cheshire Councils will receive a share of £51.2 billion local government funding next year – up £2.2 billion on this year. Funding for key public services will again be protected, with significant extra resources dedicated to areas where they are needed most. Thanks to the investment being made by the Conservatives, Cheshire East Council will have an extra £13.63 million to spend next year, whilst Cheshire West and Chester Council will receive an additional £11.66 million.

The local government finance settlement sets out how much councils have to spend on vital local services each year, including social care which will see a £1 billion increase in funding next year as a result of the announcement. In total, local authorities across England will receive an extra £5 billion in support next year, including a further £1.55 billion in additional grant funding to cover costs relating to the pandemic and an extra £670 million to help families facing hardship with their council tax bills.

This is on top of the more than £7.2 billion in additional funding given to local areas throughout the pandemic so far to protect vital services that have kept vulnerable people and communities safe.

Eddisbury MP, Edward Timpson CBE, said:

“Local authorities play a vital role in our communities, providing the crucial local services that people rely on every day.

“I am delighted that our two Cheshire Councils will have an additional £25.29 million in funding this year thanks to this Conservative Government. These funds will help our local leaders make positive change in the area.

“This builds on the significant funding boost the council received at the beginning of the year, underlying our determination to ensure all local authorities have the resources they need to drive forward our recovery in a way that works for our community as we build back better after the pandemic.”

Local Government Secretary, the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, added:

“Councils have played a critical role leading their communities during the pandemic and delivering vital local services to vulnerable people and we have supported them with £7.2 billion extra funding to date.

“That’s why I am announcing a financial package that will provide over £5 billion of extra support next year. This will give councils the resources they need to lead the recovery of their communities while delivering the services that people rely on.”

Thanks to measures introduced by the Conservatives, local people now have a stronger voice over council tax rises than ever before.

This means local residents have the power to veto excessive council tax rises, with a referendum being required if councils propose raising the tax by 2% or more, whilst councils with responsibility for adult social care will be able to set a further 3% increase, ring-fenced exclusively for adult social care. Anything above this level will also need to be voted on by local people. This strikes the right balance between addressing pressure on services and giving council-tax payers the final say on excessive increases.

• Increasing funding for local authorities by £2.2 billion, helping them continue to deliver the key services we all rely on every day. Councils across England will receive £51.2 billion in 2021-22, providing them with additional resources to deliver effective local services and continue to support their communities during the pandemic, while protecting council taxpayers from excessive increases. The government will provide confirmation of the final local government finance settlement once consultation is complete in the New Year.
• Providing access to £1 billion for social care next year, as we promised to do, to ensure we can continue to look after the most vulnerable in society. Councils will see their core funding increase by £2.2 billion in 2021-22, including a £1 billion increase in social care funding to ensure councils can meet rising demand, fund more care home places and social workers, and protect some of the most vulnerable in society.
• Helping councils to continue supporting their communities through the coronavirus pandemic. We will provide £1.55 billion of unringfenced funding for councils to continue to support their communities during the pandemic and lead the recovery in their local areas. The allocation of this money has taken into account a range of factors including population and deprivation, as well as the varying cost of delivering services across the country.
• Helping councils to keep bills low, meaning people will keep more of the money they earn while continuing to receive vital local services. We will provide £670 million to help councils to continue reducing council tax bills for those least able to pay, including households impacted financially by the pandemic.
• Preventing excessive council tax rises. Local residents will have the power to veto excessive Council Tax rises, with a referendum being required if local authorities propose raising the tax above 2 per cent, with extra flexibility for some authority types.