Budgetary slap in the face for Hertfordshire
26th November 2008
During a debate on Local Government Finance earlier today, Anne Main challenged the Government to bring forward a review of the Local Government funding formula which means Hertfordshire receives less funding than many other areas.
During a debate on Local Government Finance earlier today, Anne Main, Member of Parliament for St Albans, challenged the Government to bring forward a review of the Local Government funding formula which means Hertfordshire receives less funding than many other areas.
The Government is due to review the formula in 2010, but Anne feels that given the pressures on revenue budgets in the county, a review should be undertaken sooner rather than later. However, the Minister refused to bring the review forward.
Anne said:
"This is another budgetary slap in the face for Hertfordshire. I have long been arguing that the fact we receive less in terms of Government grants to support our local services than other areas needs to be addressed and this is still the case.
The Government should bring forward this planned review of Local Government finance in order to address this inequity, and provide us with a fairer settlement. The poor funding we receive is a real issue. That's why there are holes in our roads, that's why we are seeing closures and cuts in services and that's why we struggle to make ends meet.""
