The leader of a North East council branded the country’s second-worst local authority in terms of value for money has hit back at the claims.
Coun Martin Gannon of Gateshead Council was speaking following the publication of an article in the Telegraph, which put the council only ahead of neighbouring Northumberland in the UK-wide ranking. The Telegraph story analysed council tax rates and then compared them to the “quality of services provided”.
A number of factors were considered for the ranking, including the Ofsted performance of local schools and CQC inspection results for care homes, as well as recycling rates, levels of social housing and the number of burglaries per 1,000 residents. Coun Gannon said a significant loss of funding in recent years had forced the authority into “difficult decisions” – but maintained that the article was “unfair”.
He said: “This is a very unfair comparison for Gateshead Council and in no way reflects our current position, particularly when you consider that almost 90% of our properties are in Council Tax bands A, B and C.
“The system for financing local government is undoubtedly broken and is based on the assumption that local authorities will increase Council Tax by the maximum amount each year. However, a 1% increase in Gateshead only generates £1m, which will not address the £49.5m funding gap we are facing over the next five years.
“We have lost over 60% of our grant from the government, £191m since 2010, which is significantly more than some local authorities. As a result, we are having to make some very difficult decisions but as always we are totally committed to doing the best we can for our residents.”
Coun Gannon’s comments come after the Government committed to a funding package worth over £64 billion to support councils in England. The provisional local government finance settlement saw an increase of £4 billion, which the Government said was an “above inflation rise in recognition of the pressures being faced by local authorities”.
Speaking on the announcement, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “Councils are the backbone of their communities and carry out tremendous work every day in delivering vital services to the people they serve.
“We recognise they are facing challenges and that is why we have announced a £64 billion funding package to ensure they can continue making a difference, including through our combined efforts to level up.”
Minister for Local Government Simon Hoare added: “It is good news for our local government sector that we are presenting an above-inflation increase in funding.
“We are, and will, continue to work alongside councils to ensure quality and reliable services are provided to those who need and use them, while also keeping a weather eye on ensuring value for the taxpayer.”
But the independent Local Government Information Unit, which supports councils in England as well as Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Australia, said the funding increase did “little to address severe problems” in the country’s local government finances. Chief executive Jonathan Carr-West added that it was ” simply too little, too late”.
He added: “The key issue is with the long-term resilience of the sector. Only 6.25% of senior council figures were happy with the progress that had been made by the central government on delivering a sustainable funding system.
“This settlement does not address these concerns. A system where local governments only find out how much money they have for a year, without significant consultation, and with limited capacity to change their own financial position, can never succeed in meeting the long-term needs of the sector.”
