Government cuts to local authority budget are of 160 pounds per head, MP learns
Cuts made by the Conservative-led government to council budgets will mean that per resident, Lambeth’s budget will fall by £104.10 per person in 2011/12 and £55 in 2012/13.
The research, undertaken by the House of Commons Library, shows that Lambeth’s revenue spending power will fall by £29.88m in financial year 2011/12 £15.9m in financial year 2012/13.
Across England, councils face a 12 per cent cut in their core central government funding next year, and as a result councils face a total funding shortfall of £6.5bn over the next two years.
Lambeth is the eighth most deprived single-tier local authority in England and the fifth most deprived borough of the 32 in London.
As a result of the way in which the government is cutting local government funding, the most deprived 10% of single-tier authorities will see their total spending power reduced by nearly four times as much as the least deprived 10% of single-tier local authorities. The most deprived lose 8.4% next year, compared to 2.2% for the least deprived.
Commenting, Chuka Umunna MP said: “The most deprived local authorities, like Lambeth, are being hit hardest by cuts to local government budgets. For all Ministers’ talk of fairness, localism and devolving power, they have dumped cuts on local councils and left them facing the toughest financial settlement in living memory.”
“The government has chosen to front-load the heaviest cuts and to impose the worst cuts on deprived communities rather than distributing them fairly. I am deeply concerned at the impact this will have on our area, particularly our community and voluntary sector.”
