GOVERNMENT FUNDING PLANS WILL EXACERBATE PUBLIC SERVICE CRISIS IN THE SOUTH EAST

"Any of the proposed changes to the way the Government funds public services in England will put the quality of these services in the South East in further danger." This is the warning from the South East England Regional Assembly.

The Regional Assembly's Executive Committee was meeting to discuss the Assembly's response to the Government's public consultation on options for a new formula grant distribution system in England which will replace the previous Standard Spending Assessment system in 2003/2004.

The consultation process includes five options for the future calculation of Area Cost Adjustment (ACA), the "top up" grant currently received by councils in the South East, London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Essex in order to compensate for higher costs of service provision. In the South East, ACA is calculated to be worth more that £500 million to local authorities.

Nick Skellett, Chair of the Regional Assembly, said: "The Assembly has closely scrutinised the five new options for the top up grant and it is clearly evident that every single option will reduce the amount of money the South East receives to help local authorities in high cost areas fulfil their public service commitments.

"This is an unacceptable situation for the South East to be in. A recent study by Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick on wage relativities across England concluded that unless local government, health, police and others delivering vital public services in high wage areas are funded so that they can compete effectively for skills in the labour market, they will fail to recruit and retain staff in increasing numbers. Thus, any reduction, rather than increase, in the ACA will only deepen the crisis."

The Regional Assembly will be writing to the Government to express its concerns.

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007