SOLIHULL Metropolitan Borough
Council will be among those hardest hit under funding cuts announced by the
Government today.
The council’s ‘spending
power’ will fall 2.7 per cent in the 12 months from April.
This places it 34th
out of 361 local authorities, some of which will enjoy increases of up to 6.4
per cent. Hastings
Average ‘spending power’ is
down 1.7 per cent, communities secretary Eric Pickles said.
The Government said next year
heralded a “dramatic shift” in how councils raise cash, with 70 per cent set to
come from council tax, compared to 56 per cent now.
However, Solihull council has long raised more from council tax due to low Government
settlements, 66 per cent this year.
It has traditionally been
given less cash as Solihull is assessed as a more prosperous area and therefore
less needy of public services.
But from April, councils will
be able to keep half the business rate collected instead of handing all the
cash to the Treasury.
Mr Pickles outlined 50 ways
for councils to save cash including sharing services with other local
authorities, curbing use of corporate credit cards and greater transparency.
The spending power
calculation includes forecast business rates and NHS funding for social care.
The authority froze its band
D £1,173.72 take of the council tax – about two-thirds of the final bill – this
year.
It has said future increases
will be no more than 2.5 per cent. Any increase over two per cent will trigger
a local referendum.
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