Lucy Allan MP: 'Stronger case for funding in Telford is needed'

Telford & Wrekin Council's leader has written to MPs Mark Pritchard and Lucy Allan urging them to take up the fight in Parliament for fairer funding.

Councillor Shaun Davies, said Telford was getting £12 million less per year than the average council to spend on frontline services.

He said Shropshire Council and Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski had been able to secure nearly £10m in extra funding but Telford MP Lucy Allan said the authority needed to make a strong case as to why the borough would merit additional funding. She said Shropshire funding was won by demonstrating its rurality, which made it a "special case".

Ms Allan said: "MPs representing rural constituencies such as Shropshire were able to make a strong case to Government that local service delivery was more difficult in rural areas.

"This was due to an ageing demographic and a dispersed population.

"The rural MPs were able to make the case based on evidence their rural areas were a special case. This is what we need to do for our area. We need to make the case that demonstrates Telford & Wrekin Council has specific geographic or demographic needs to merit additional funding.

"If councils are similarly affected the MPs representing those areas can work collaboratively, as rural MPs have done, to ensure Government hears our concerns."

She added the four-year settlement would also make it easier for councils to control their own funding. "The four year funding settlement makes local councils fully responsible for their own financing, rather than having to rely on central government," she said.

"This is something I know will be welcomed in Telford."

Telford & Wrekin Council said it is short on funding from central government with figures showing the average amount of spending power received by English councils was £1,829 per home next year.

Spending power is a Government calculation for how much councils receive and is made up of Government grant, council tax and businesses rates, of which the council currently keeps 49 per cent.

But for Telford & Wrekin it comes to £1,676 – equivalent to £153 less a year for every home in the borough.