Hounslow Labour welcomes Fair Funding decision

Hounslow House – headquarters of LB Hounslow

Decision on local authority funding will ‘right a historic wrong’ say Hounslow Labour Party

The Government has published the outcome of its ‘Fair Funding Review 2.0’, which addresses some of the underlying formulae that determine how much funding local authorities receive.

As unsexy as that sounds, the Labour group who dominate Hounslow Council are excited by it, as they believe it will mean a lot more money for the borough.

“The change aims to address the historic wrongs embedded by successive Conservative Governments and better reflect the levels of local need”, their spokesman told The Chiswick Calendar.

“Previous Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak even boasted about taking money out of deprived urban areas when he was running for Tory Leader.

“For too long, an outdated council funding system based on decades-old data has entrenched inequality”.

Manchester, Bradford and outer London boroughs among those to receive increases.

Interior of Hounslow House

Most significant changes to local government funding in a decade

The changes announced by the Labour Government are considered to be the most fundamental in a decade; more far-reaching than the kind of announcement made in a Budget or Spending Review, they change the weighting of formulae used to calculate and allocate funding to different local areas.

The new formulae are designed to reflect more accurately the levels of deprivation and will have big implications for our public services and the lives of local people.

Although Hounslow is considered average for London considering the amount of deprivation there is in the borough, over 8% of the population living in Hounslow live in the 20% most deprived areas in England.

The most deprived area in the borough is the area surrounding the Ivybridge estate in Isleworth, with other small areas with high deprivation in Brentford, Heston West, Cranford, Isleworth, Hanworth and Hanworth Park Wards.

Announcing the Fair Funding decision, Housing and Communities Secretary, Steve Reed, said:

“This is a chance to turn the page on a decade of cuts, and for local leaders to invest in getting back what has been lost – to bring back libraries, youth services, clean streets, and community hubs.”

Chiswick Library, one of the services funded by Hounslow Council

What difference will it make to Hounslow?

The Guardian reports that the settlement has received a lukewarm welcome from some urban councils in the north and Midlands which said it was disappointing that “London’s suburbs” were the “biggest winners” from the review.

‘These changes will mean reversing years of underfunding for areas like Hounslow, where funding has not matched the level of local need, Hounslow’s Labour Party spokesman told us.

“By providing a three-year settlement, the Government is also giving Local Authorities greater security and stability, allowing them to plan for the long term”.

Core Spending Power (CSP) is the Government’s measure of the core components of local government funding, including the Fair Funding Assessment. This will increase significantly for boroughs like Hounslow.

Hounslow’s portion of grant funding will increase 52.1% by 2028/29.

Leader of Hounslow Council, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat

Commenting on the Government announcement, Council Leader Shantanu Rajawat, and Cabinet Member for Finance, said:

“This is about restoring fairness. These changes aren’t just a nice cash boost for local councils; they are a recognition of over a decade of underfunding at the hands of the Conservatives and they will help to right a historic wrong.

“While the Tories boasted about taking money out of deprived communities, this Labour Council has protected public services, supported the most vulnerable, and focused on guaranteeing good value for money.

“Residents are sick of hearing how, for 14 years, the Tories cut funding to communities like ours. They want to know what a Labour Government is going to do about it. Now we have our answer.

“Today is about looking to the long-term future – about more investment in public services, better support for the most vulnerable, and a fairer future for all our residents.”

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar