Thursday 23 December 2010

City Council Leader Fighting Government For Fairer Deal

Cambridge City Council Leader Sian Reid is battling with the government for a fairer deal after a 20 per cent cut in the city council’s grant from government next year.

Cllr Reid has talked to Local Government Minister, Andrew Stunnell after the city council was told it would receive 12 per cent less in grant funding than it was expecting for 2011/12.

Prudent management by the Lib Dem controlled city council has meant that some of this can be absorbed but the reduction in government grant gives the council less to spend in future years.

The figure includes a £900,000 bill to support the government’s concessionary bus fares scheme for the elderly and disabled which has already cost the city council £4.8 million in the last four years.

Cllr Reid said: “The council will come in under budget this year and that helps us to deal with the news that we will be receiving considerably less than was anticipated. We can cope without increasing our long term savings targets that were set out in November.

“But the government promised that no council would face more than an 8.9 per cent reduction this year. And we have been penalised through the concessionary fares scheme because the government is under the impression that we received £900,000 more than we actually did.

“I am pushing the government to look again at the funding for Cambridge city so that we can get a fairer settlement.”

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