Council leader declares funding reforms unfair

LABOUR MPs in County Durham have been labelled “liars or imbeciles” by a council leader after claims about government funding.

- BILL EDGAR Local democracy reporter

Durham County Council said it will receive £51.4m across three years as part of the latest local government funding settlement, despite claims from regional MPs that £170m has been awarded.

‘The money is designed to improve the local authority's core spending power and can be used to pay for services like bin collections, housing and children’s services, But Reform council leaders said much of the funding will be spent on responding to current budget overspends.

Responding to the funding announcement, council leader Andrew Husband told a cabinet meeting: “The funding reforms themselves are not particularly fair - false advertising.

“They do little to address 16 years of neglect and do not come from an angle of assessing whether local government is fairly funded in the first place. They merely spread the jam in a slightly different way, papering over the cracks.