Wokingham Borough Council will find out this week if the government has listened to the widespread calls for changes to local government funding.
The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement will set out the level of funding Wokingham Borough will receive from the Government for the year ahead.
In recent years, Wokingham Borough has been the lowest funded, or among the lowest, unitary council in the country because funding has been primarily based on levels of deprivation.
Wokingham Borough has joined other voices calling for a more balanced and comprehensive approach to funding that takes into account the true cost of meeting residents’ needs, such as providing social care for adults and children, as well as special educational needs support.
If these true costs were considered, Wokingham Borough would be better placed to meet residents’ care and support needs without having to make savings elsewhere.
Executive member for finance, Cllr Imogen Shepherd-DuBey, said: “I can’t say we are optimistic about a change from the Government this year, but are hopeful common sense will prevail in the end.
“We have managed our money prudently and so are not yet in the dire situations some other councils unfortunately find themselves in, but we cannot continue like this for many more years – something has to change.
“We understand that deprivation is a factor in how much funding councils need, but it is not the only one or even, perhaps, not the most important one, given that so much of our spending goes to support people with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and other care needs that are not linked to deprivation.
“We, along with many others, have lobbied the Government for reform and improved funding and we will continue to fight for a fairer deal – while of course trying to manage our limited spending as best we can for those people who need us most.”
Causes of the financial difficulties
Low funding from central government – Wokingham receives about £30 million a year less from the government than the average local authority. That works out at about £400 less per household each year. This is due to the formula the government uses to slice up the overall funding it allocates to local authorities.
These formulas do not reflect real local needs because they do not factor in vital issues, such as the number and complexity of children with special educational needs.
Inflation and borrowing costs – The rate of inflation has fallen, but that is after a period of high rates, meaning costs have gone up significantly and are not coming down. High inflation caused real cost increases to the council of about £10.8 million last year. Borrowing costs remain high despite reductions in inflation.
Increasing needs in the community – The problems caused by inflation are made more difficult because more people in the borough have care needs that the council must meet, including children with special educational needs, children in care and adults with learning difficulties or physical disabilities.
The needs of residents are also becoming more complex. The additional cost of providing these services this year is about £9.7 million. The borough council is in the process of setting its budget for 2025/26.
Wokingham Borough Council has consulted its residents on the principles to underpin this, and specific proposals are being discussed at publicly open Overview and Scrutiny meetings.
The final budget will be set in February.
