Councillor Anne Handley, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, responds to the Government's provisional Fair Funding statement:
The Government’s provisional Fair Funding statement was announced on Wednesday 17 December and since then we have been calculating how the new system affects us.
We are very disappointed with this settlement and have serious concerns about the implications. We are working hard to fight for a better and fairer deal for our residents. As the figures currently stand we are one of the worse affected councils in the country. This settlement does not take into account the rural nature of our authority and means a significant drop in funding for our area. We are continuing to work with local MPs to lobby the government for a better settlement for the East Riding.
We are facing a significant reduction in core Government support.
This is due to the way the new formula is calculated, which focusses on areas of deprivation and does not recognise delivering services in a rural setting.
Current calculations show the council is set to lose £32.2million from its current annual settlement funding, phased in over a three-year period, starting from the 2026/27 financial year.
This reduction is before inflation, so the real-term impact is greater.
In 2026-27 the cut in funding will be £9.2million.
We know this means difficult decisions will have to be taken and the way we work will have to change. To prepare for this we have already begun to put plans in place before this announcement was made.
- We’re embarking on a full re-design of how the council operates – every service will be reviewed to rethink how we deliver to our communities.
- We are launching a strategic review to enable us to be a leaner, more efficient council.
- We have agreed this week at cabinet to developing a new target operating model which is a fundamental shift and will see us transform and modernise the way we work.
- We’ve responded to the government consultation – expressing our serious concerns about this funding settlement
These challenges are significant but so are the opportunities and will ensure we are sustainable and resilient for the future and better able to meet the needs of our residents.
I am proud to live in the East Riding and to be the Leader of East Riding Council. We have so much to be celebrate across the services we provide. These new ways of working in particular the strategic review, transformation and new operating model will help us to build a council which delivers for the future.
