London Councils has urged the government to reconsider key
elements of plans to reform council funding in its response to the Fair Funding
Review 2.0 consultation, which closed recently.
In particular, the cross-party group highlighted the need to
accurately measure the capital’s high levels of deprivation, with the impact of
housing costs properly factored in.
Boroughs argue ‘flawed’ deprivation measures risk
undermining the government’s aim of ensuring funding follows need. For example,
the deprivation measure currently proposed gives ‘road distance to a post
office’ equal weighting to levels of homelessness – suggesting these factors
have the same level of impact on deprivation in a community.
London Councils Chair, Cllr Claire Holland, said: “We
have long called for reform to local government funding to ensure money is
distributed fairly on the basis of need. However, the current proposals risk
failing to achieve this. After more than a decade of structural underfunding,
rising demand and skyrocketing costs, the impact on London could be severe.
“It is right to focus resources on areas with the highest
levels of deprivation, but we can’t ignore deprivation in the capital – London
has the highest rate of poverty in the country once housing costs are factored
in. It is difficult to explain how proximity to a post office affects someone’s
life as much as homelessness, yet these factors are given equal weighting under
the current proposals.
“As the government considers the responses to the
consultation, we will continue working with them to ensure we create a funding
regime that genuinely matches resources to need and helps restore financial
stability to the sector. This is critical to us delivering on our shared
priorities, including building homes, creating jobs and driving economic
growth.”
