News story

Residents can now see where council funding goes

As part of the Government’s commitment to transparency, ministers have today taken steps to de-mystify the complex formula grant funding system…

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

As part of the Government’s commitment to transparency, ministers have today taken steps to de-mystify the complex formula grant funding system by publishing further analysis of the way in which central government funding will be distributed per resident around country.

Last week a plain English guide to the provisional Local Government settlement was published alongside a series of spreadsheets, formulas and figures to assist people who understandably may not know their formula grant from their damping floor. ‘A Plain English Guide to the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2011-12’ is available here www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1796186.pdf.

Ministers have today published the results of a ready reckoner on local government finance that shows how much money is being allocated per head per council. These figures have been mapped to show at a glance how the £21.5 billion of central taxpayer funding for local government is distributed around the country.

The data makes it easy to see how much money is being made available for every individual in any given area in England. It shows is that those areas of the country that are most dependant on central government funding are receiving the lion’s share of the money that is available. The figures also underline the fact that the settlement is fair between different parts of the country - north and south, rural and urban, metropolitan and shire.

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said:

When it comes to the way local government budgets are allocated it is not the technicalities taxpayers care about. What they want to know is how much money their council is receiving and what that means in terms of cash per person.

The formula for working out local government finance runs to 152 pages. Getting information out in more accessible formats is about simplifying this complex but important process so that taxpayers can see where their money is going.

What the data shows is that funding fairness underpins this settlement. The settlement is fair between different parts of the country - north and south, rural and urban, metropolitan and shire.

By adopting an intelligent and fair approach to the way funding is allocated we are getting formula grant to where it is needed most. We have been able to ensure those parts of the country that are most reliant on central funding continue to get the lion’s share of the taxpayers’ money that is available.

Notes to editors

1. The data published today shows that average formula grant funding per head in 2011-12 is £559.36.

  1. A table showing formula grant funding per head for 2011-12 can be found here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/newsroom/1786823/1804766.xls.

3. A map showing formula grant funding per head for 2001-12 can be found here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/newsroom/pdf/1804871.pdf.

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Published 21 December 2010