Stuart Anderson has backed government plans to boost funding available to the City of Wolverhampton Council by more than £18 million. The plans would bring the Council’s core spending power to £318 million. It represents a 6.2% increase or around £2,805 per dwelling - at least £200 more than the national average. Since 2019, funding available to the Council has quadrupled, with an extra £91.6 million available for frontline council services in the city compared to 2019/20.
Stuart said that the funding would enable the Council to boost frontline services in the city, ensuring that local issues are prioritised. Among other items, the package includes £29.4 million for adult and children’s social care. This is alongside £14.8 million from the Improved Better Care Fund and £3.4 million to support timely and safe discharge from hospital into the community. For Wolverhampton, it also includes £6 million from the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) to build capacity in local adult social care services and £500,000 for services such as homelessness, planning, recycling and refuse collection, and leisure services.
Overall, the provisional local government finance delivers a substantial funding for local authorities worth more than £64.1 billion for the next financial year – an increase of £3.9 billion or 6.5% in Core Spending Power compared 2023-2024, the majority of which is not ringfenced.
The Government is continuing to protect local taxpayers from excessive increases in council tax, by setting the core council tax referendum limit of up to 3% from April 2024. Councils can set higher increases if they wish, via the consent of a local referendum. In addition, local authorities with social care responsibilities will be able to set an adult social care precept of up to 2% without a referendum. It is for individual authorities to determine whether to use the flexibilities available, taking into consideration the local circumstances.
Stuart Anderson MP said: “I welcome the Government’s proposals to back councils with an additional £3.9 billion. This includes a 6.2% increase for the City of Wolverhampton Council. Since 2019, we have more than quadrupled funding available for services in Wolverhampton, with an extra £91 million available since then. This year, the Government’s plans will see Wolverhampton’s spending power increase from £299.6 million to £318.3 million, worth over £2,000 per household. This real-terms increase demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving public services in our city.”
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.”
The Government will provide confirmation of the final settlement after the consultation closes on 15 January 2024 and all responses have been considered.