Leader of Shropshire Council slams Government funding settlement
Cllr Heather Kidd, Leader of Shropshire Council, has slammed as ‘deeply unfair’ the Government news that Shropshire will receive £4.3 million less in Government funding in 2026/27.
Heather said “The financial situation we inherited was dire. A council tax freeze for 6 years plus millions wasted on shopping centres and consultants has left Council finances in a perilous state.
“We are between a rock and a hard place, but the hard place has got much harder.”
“The money that comes in from Council Tax, fees and charges and business rates only forms part of our income, a big proportion comes from central Government funding . Unfortunately, the Stamer’s Government have decided to slash the support given to rural councils and boost spending to urban areas. This has made the financial situation of rural councils like us much worse given the great cost of delivering services in the Countryside. As it stands rural Council tax payers will be paying, on average, 17% more than urban. The current rate of Council tax is also the lowest amongst our neighbours. (see note 1)
“The only thing we have been offered is the option to raise another 4% on the Council tax (to a maximum of 8.99%) effectively passing more costs from the state to the council taxpayer.
“As a Council we are committed to creating a Council that really delivers for the people of Shropshire but to do that but to do this we must put it on a sound financial footing in place of the shambles we inherited last May. We also have to set a legal, workable budget. Given the squeeze put on us by the current Government we really have no alternative but to go down this path.
Lastly Shropshire Council recognises that many of our fellow residents are already suffering financial hardship from many causes. The help with this we have switched resources to help residents access benefits such as attendance allowance and pension credits. We have also secured approximately £3m from the Government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) to support households facing financial crises”
