Council settlements will ‘lead to cuts in services’

LOCAL authorities across the West Midlands will have to find substantial savings in the next fiscal year after the Government wielded the axe over its spending settlements.

The slashing of settlements – the money authorities receive from central Government in addition to council tax and business rates – has prompted the Local Government Association to warn of “inevitable” cuts in services.

Birmingham City Council has to find savings of £105m, around 8%, while Wolverhampton must do without 7% of its spending settlement, or £20.4m.

Other authorities in the region fared better in yesterday’s review of central Government grants.

Shropshire Council , which became a unitary authority in April last year, will have £7.3m less from Government, a drop of just under 3%, and Worcestershire County Council has lost just 1.8% compared with its 2010/2011 spending settlement, a fall of £6.8m.

Baroness Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “This is the toughest local government finance settlement in living memory.

“A few councils have seen a reduction in the money they receive from the Government of up to 17% in the first year.

“As a result councils face a total funding shortfall of £6.5 billion over the next year. We have to face the fact that this level of grant reduction will inevitably lead to cuts in services.

“The Government has recognised the impact the cuts will have on those areas of the country that rely most heavily on the public sector and has provided a limited amount of new money to help those areas cope.

“Councils now face incredibly tough choices about the services they continue to provide and those they will have to cut.”

The full list of West Midlands council spending settlements for 2011/12 is:

Birmingham: -£105.3m, -8.32%
Bromsgrove: -£0.6m, -4.55%
Cannock Chase: -£1.1, -7.03%
Coventry: -£18.4m, -5.73%
Dudley: -£9.5m, -3.39%
East Staffordshire: -£1.4m, -7.8%
Lichfield: -£0.7m, -5.69%
Malvern Hills: -£0.7m, -6.17%
Newcastle-under-Lyme: -£1.2m, -6.83%
North Warwickshire: -£0.7m, -6.47%
Nuneaton and Bedworth: -£1.2m, -6.81%
Redditch: -£0.9m, -7.24%
Rugby: -£0.9m, -6.36%
Sandwell: -£23.7m, 6.71%
Shropshire: -£7.3m, -2.8%
Solihull: -£6.1m, -3.49%
South Staffordshire: -£0.8, -6.09%
Stafford: -£1m, -6.31%
Staffordshire: -£10.6m, -1.96%
Staffordshire Moorlands: -£1.1m, -7.65%
Stoke-on-Trent: -£21.6m, -8.09%
Stratford-on-Avon: -£0.8m, -4.95%
Tamworth: -£0.7, -7.32%
Telford and Wrekin: -£6.4m, -4.09%
Walsall: -£19.5m, -6.58%
Warwick: -£1.2m, -6.31%
Warwickshire: -£5.1m, 1.32%
Wolverhampton: -£20.4, 6.99%
Worcester    : -£0.7m, -5.49%
Worcestershire: -£6.8m, 1.83%
Wychavon: -£1.1m, -7.39%
Wyre Forest: -£1.4m, -8.43%