West Sussex MPs have signed a letter urging Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, to review a grants system for local government that has left the County Council facing the prospect of making cuts in services.

The letter was signed at County Hall by Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex), Francis Maude (Horsham), Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs), Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham), Peter Bottomley (Worthing), and Nick Gibb (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton). It is also being backed by Andrew Tyrie, MP for Chichester, who was unable to attend the meeting.

It calls on Mr Prescott to ‘look again at the damage being caused by a grant system that treats West Sussex so badly.’

The letter includes a seven-point action plan designed to reverse a trend of poor settlements and low funding that can only be ‘harmful to local residents…..especially those vulnerable members of the community who depend on County Council services.’

Henry Smith, Leader of the County Council, said: “We are extremely grateful to our MPs for their full support, and hope that the points they have made will be looked at carefully by Mr Prescott.”

The full text of the letter is as follows:

“We deplore the recent government finance settlement for West Sussex - one that yet again is certain to have a very damaging impact on County Council services. In a repeat of last year, West Sussex has suffered the worst settlement of all counties – the latest in a long line of poor and very harmful settlements.

Under the Government’s new system, the County has to rely on £16.3m of damping grant that could be withdrawn at any time. In addition, the County estimates there is a further £4.2m of temporary funding for Social Care that Government could also remove over time. In short, more cuts to the funding of local services are inescapable under the Government’s new grant regime. The County Council is massively reliant on this temporary funding – which makes up around 20% of the grant funding for non-school services.

Even the relatively better grant increase for schools has been achieved only by Government ignoring its own grant distribution system method. It has delayed removing £12.8m of support from the County’s schools that the new system implies – but there are no promises this cut will not be made in the future.

We are therefore very alarmed at the prospect of yet more funding being removed from the South East, and West Sussex in particular, in the longer term.

The 2% increase in formula grant for County services that has been received for 2006/07 is, in reality, a cash cut, after reductions in specific grants – such as Supporting People – are taken into account.

The settlement also fails to provide any cash support for capital investment. Capital allocations announced by Government, designed to encourage capital investment and claimed to be supported by the grant system, bring not one penny of extra grant to the County Council – or to any other authority on the grant floor.

We have to conclude that public services in West Sussex are a low priority to Government. While West Sussex may be more prosperous than some parts of the country, a grant system that provides West Sussex residents with less than half the amount given to Manchester and Liverpool defies any sense of fairness.

Your grant changes totally ignore the independent evidence, such as the report by Professor Oswald on wage costs in the South East. That shows the County is under-funded for the cost pressures it faces - costs estimated at around £20m per annum. It is inexplicable that your grant system now assumes that costs of service delivery in West Sussex are the same as in South Wales.

We urge Government to look again at the damage being caused by its grant system that treats West Sussex so badly. The cumulative impact of years of poor settlements and low funding can only be very harmful to local residents and especially those vulnerable members of the community who depend on County services.

We want Government to:

· Urgently reconsider its new grant system and the funding allocated to support the County’s services.

· Ensure there is a grant system that at least properly protects local services throughout the County and allows services to be maintained.

· Stop cutting specific grants.

· Ensure the County receives full compensation for the additional wage pressures it faces as part of the South East economy. Independent evidence shows the amount the County gets from Government is woefully short.

· Ensure the County receives proper support for the capital investment Government wants it to make.

· Promise that schools will not suffer in future the cuts implied by the £12.8m of temporary support locked into their funding.

· Urgently examine the regional impact of its policies and the low funding of services in the South East.”

ENDS

Notes:

Picture Caption: Henry Smith (front left) with Nicholas Soames who is signing the letter while Peter Bottomley has an envelope at the ready. Watching behind (from left) are Nick Herbert, Tim Loughton, Francis Maude, and Nick Gibb.

483 (January 11) County Council Cabinet Tells Government We’re Being Forced To Make Cuts.

523 (January 31) Cabinet Recommends Budget and Council Tax for 2006/07

14th February 2006