Helen blasts Government after “cynical” 10% cut in funding for Shropshire

Helen has blasted the Government for “riding roughshod” over rural areas after it was revealed that local authority funding for Shropshire would drop by 10%.

She hit out on Thursday (18th December) at the announcement by Local Government Minister, Alison McGovern MP, which will see council taxpayers in Shropshire plug the gap.

The figures for the Local Government Finance Settlement show a cut in central funding for Shropshire Council, dropping from £151.5m to £136.3m by 2028/29, further compounding the local authority’s financial woes.

Cross-party MPs and council leaders have made clear to the Government how serious the situation in Shropshire is, but Helen said this had been ignored and claims of helping to put the authority on a stable footing were “clearly false”.

She has written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed MP, to express her “shock and disappointment” at the decision.

Helen said: “Yet again Shropshire has been left out in the cold and let down by a Westminster government that does not care about rural areas.

“Services cost far more to deliver in places like Shropshire and yet this Government is splashing the cash on urban areas while leaving rural taxpayers to foot the bill.

“The Government is wrong to be celebrating a cynical deal that rides roughshod over rural areas and fails to acknowledge the reality of the financial emergency facing Shropshire and other counties across the country.”

The figures released by the Government put the pressure on taxpayers in Shropshire by assuming a maximum increase to the Council Tax burden on residents.

Responding to the announcement, Shropshire Council Leader, Cllr Heather Kidd, said: “Labour have let Shropshire down again with this funding settlement, despite repeated promises to fix the funding gap between rural authorities and our urban counterparts.

“We are down £6.5 million in 2026/27 compared to projections from October, due to the fact that Ministers have ignored the higher cost of delivering rural services, removing the remoteness factor from most of our funding. It's clear that rural services will suffer as a result.

“What's more, it is clear that Ministers expect us to put Council Tax up by the maximum every year to counter this. Sadly, that won't come anywhere close to fixing Shropshire's £50 million deficit, with social care pressures likely to be over £20 million next year alone. We will have to make very difficult decisions as a result, and must change our service offer.”

The County Councils Network, which represents county and unitary councils covering about 50% of the population, said changes to the way funding was allocated raised questions over whether Ministers were “cherry picking” which councils benefitted from extra funding.

In a statement on its website, Cllr Steven Broadbent, Finance Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said it was “vital the Government ensured all councils have the resources they need to prevent severe cuts to services”.