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Wiltshire Council reacts to confirmation of the provisional local government finance settlement

Wiltshire Council has reacted with disappointment to the provisional local government finance settlement, which is the amount of funding the council will receive from the government.

Published 19 December 2024

Wiltshire Council has reacted with disappointment to the provisional local government finance settlement, which is the amount of funding the council will receive from the government.

In the local government finance settlement for 2025/26 announced on 18 December, Wiltshire Council has seen an increase of 4.3% in its Core Spending Power, which is the amount the government assesses the council needs in funding. This is lower than the average increase seen across large rural unitary and county councils, which is 5.6%. These increases assume that council tax rises by 4.99%.

The government had previously confirmed that grants such as the Rural Services Delivery Grant and the Services Grant will be 'repurposed' and the council is not receiving funding through these new grants.

Government had also previously confirmed that councils can continue to increase council tax in 2025/26 by 3% and a further 2% solely to support adult care services, making 5% in total. More information on the settlement announcement can be found on the government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2025-to-2026#provisional-settlement-2025-to-2026:-social-care-funding-

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: "Although we are extremely disappointed with the provisional local government finance settlement, we are not surprised. We work tirelessly at Wiltshire Council and plan ahead so that we can be as self-sufficient as possible. The new Government has demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of the challenges faced by rural areas, treating them as places to build in rather than communities to support, this reduction in funding is just another facet of that.

"If we were over-reliant on government funding and always assumed that we'd get a certain amount then that might put us in a tricky spot. However, we have a long-term preventative approach, that should any unforeseen issues emerge then we are well equipped to deal with them.

"Having said that, we were particularly disappointed on the recent news that the Rural Services Delivery Grant will be removed, a grant designed to support the 20% most rural authorities in England in delivering services that are made more expensive by the extra travel time to move between our many villages.

"Like many other councils we are still facing huge challenges, such as increasing costs and demand for adult and children social care services, and the continued unpredictable nature of inflation and impact of government policy changes such as the changes to National Insurance which is not covered by government funding in most areas, and what that will mean for our suppliers and providers. Therefore, we will continue to keep a forensic eye on our finances and monitor our situation prudently, robustly and in a transparent way.

"During the Autumn budget, the government assured councils that the impact of the changes to Employers National Insurance would be fully compensated for directly employed staff. This is now known not to be the case, for example they have missed off Housing Revenue Account Staff for example along with Public Health Staff. There could be up to £2m additional cost that the council has to bear and could impact local services if the council did not take its strong approach to managing the financial position of the council. We are calling on government to sort this out as soon as possible.

"Should any additional government funding become available through additional grants and new projects and initiatives, then we will robustly bid for them if we felt they were in the best interest of the county. We note the confirmation of the council tax arrangements and are currently in the process of finalising our budget proposals for 2025/26, which will be published early in the new year. It is very clear that this local government settlement is designed to force rural local authorities to increase council tax in the wake of massive cuts to our funding.

"Despite the challenges, we remain an ambitious council and will continue to look at all opportunities to invest in the future of our county - and that's evident by the significant money we've recently spent on areas such as our highways, leisure services and enforcement."

There is now a government consultation on the provisional settlement which will run for four weeks, closing on 23:49 on 15 January 2025. The government will provide confirmation of the final local government finance settlement in early 2025, once the consultation has closed and all responses have been considered.

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