The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities has released the provisional local government finance settlement. LGC looks at how some councils have fared in the announcement.
Hartlepool BC where the Conservatives saw a historic parliamentary by-election victory earlier this year will see an increase in funding of £0.3m up from £36.4m to £36.7m. This increase is down to a rise in the amount provided to the council as part of the revenue support grant, the grant given to local authorities by the government and used to finance revenue expenditure on any service. This will rise from £7.9m in 2021-22 to £8.2m in 2022-23.
Nottingham City Council this week issued a section 114 notice over an unlawful use of housing revenue account money. But as part of the local government finance settlement, the council will see an increase in funding of £0.8m. The council will see an increase in its settlement funding assessment from £122.5m to £123.3 owing to an increase in its share of the revenue funding support grant from £25.9m to £26.7m.
Wirral MBC will see an increase in its funds of £1.2m. The council has recently undergone a review by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance & Accountancy (Cipfa) after requesting a capitalisation direction of £9m from the government. The £1.2m rise is due to an increase in the amount of business-rates top-up offered to the council by the government. Wirral’s top-up will increase from £53.1m to £54.3m over the next financial year.
After recently announcing it would have to cut over 400 jobs in order to make savings, Cornwall Council will see an increase of £0.5m in funding. The council’s baseline funding level will rise by £0.5m from £151m to £151.5m after the local government finance settlement indicated that the council’s business rates tariff would be cut by £0.5m, down from £18m in 2021-22 to £17.05 in 2022-23.
The local government finance settlement indicated that Derby City Council will see an increase in funds of £0.4m over the next financial year. The council, which also recently announced it was facing job cuts in order to make £12m worth of savings, will see its share of the revenue support grant increase from £12.8m in 2021-22 to £13.2m in 2022-23.
Birmingham City Council’s baseline funding level will rise by £3.4m in the next financial year, according to the provisional settlement. The business rates top up from the government will rise from £56m in 2021-22 to £59.4m in 2022-23. Meanwhile, over at Leeds City Council the settlement will see the council’s revenue support grant increase from £28.4m to £29.3m over the next financial year. This translates as an increase of £0.9m from 2021-22 to 2022-23.
After a turbulent financial year, Slough BC will see an increase in its allocation of the revenue support grant from £6.3m in 2021-22 to £6.5m in 2022-23, translating to an increase of £0.2m. Similarly, Thurrock Council, which has also faced financial difficulty over the past financial year, will see an increase in its revenue support grant of £0.2m, from £6.8m in 2021-22 to £7.1m in 2022-23.
