Southampton’s two Labour MPs, Satvir Kaur and Darren Paffey, alongside the Leader of the council, Cllr Alex Winning, have called on the government to give Southampton the funding it needs after 14 years of austerity following a shake-up of local government funding allocations.
Under the new changes announced by the Labour Government, councils will be funded more fairly based on the latest deprivation data and local need, fixing the outdated system left by the Tories.
Under the Tories, an outdated council funding system based on decades-old data entrenched inequality – leaving some councils on a financial cliff edge and communities in deprived areas facing crumbling services, cuts and rising bills. Meanwhile, councils in less deprived areas have benefited disproportionately, building up reserves while others struggled to cope.
The changes announced by the Labour Government reverse this injustice and ensure councils will be funded fairly, based on the latest deprivation data and local need, so that communities with the highest demands get the public services they rightly deserve.
Welcoming the reforms to council funding, Satvir Kaur, Member of Parliament for Southampton Test, said: “As the former Leader of Southampton City Council, I saw firsthand how the Conservative government pushed us to the brink. Southampton Council has lost more than half a billion pounds of government funding since 2010. We want to ensure Southampton is heard and gets the funding it deserves, so we can deliver real-life improvements across our area.”
Darren Paffey, MP for Southampton Itchen, said: “For too long, cities like Southampton have lost out as a result of an outdated funding formula that ignored our local needs, overlooked the deprivation faced by many people, and failed to recognise how expensive running vital services like bin collections or providing social care can be. I’m really pleased that the government is now putting things right by reforming how council funding is allocated. Now I want to make sure we get the full benefit here in Southampton and will be asking the government to give the city our fair share when the next allocations are announced, so we can protect and improve the valued public services that my constituents rely on.”
Southampton City Council Leader, Cllr Alex Winning, said: “The legacy from the Conservative government is still keenly felt. Undoing 14 years of chronic underfunding means we have had to make difficult decisions, and the residents of Southampton deserve better.”
Announcing the changes, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, said: “This Labour Government is reforming the funding system that led to regional divides, postcode lotteries, and substandard public services for too many people. Our changes will make sure cash going to councils is shared out in a fairer way that follows needs.”