BARNSLEY Council is set to receive an above-inflation recovery grant of £8m from the government - and leader Sir Steve Houghton believes the tide may finally be turning following estimations that the town has lost over £1bn in the last 12 years.
The fair funding review will permanently update the methodology used to distribute central government funds to councils.
The review will reallocate money without increasing the total funding available.
This means there will be new winners and losers.
Barnsley Council - which has been on the wrong side of funding decisions over the last 12 years - is set to be one of those winners.
Sir Steve said: “After years of financial austerity and endless lobbying by Barnsley Council for a fairer share of the funding available, the tides appear to be turning, with Barnsley set to benefit from changes to the way in which grant funding is provided to councils by central government.
“For 15 years, Barnsley and most northern councils have been at the wrong end of a financial system created by the previous government, which took money away from northern councils and directed it to the south.
“It’s estimated that Barnsley has lost over £1bn over the last 12 years.
“For the north, and Barnsley, this has meant council tax rises and pressure to reduce spending on services.
“In the south, it was the opposite - less pressure and the ability to restrict council tax rises.
“Clearly, this is an unfair system which has seen the most deprived areas come off worse.”
The £8m grant - which is expected to improve in the coming years - will allow the council to plan for the future, Sir Steve said.
He added: “An improved grant position is very welcome.
“It doesn’t solve all the issues we’re facing, but it does mean that we have one-off monies to spend in areas that we’ve had to cut, such as looking after our streets and open spaces.
“It also means that the risk to our budget going forward is not as great as it was.
“Because of this, we’ve been able to release some of our reserve funds to support families with the cost of living and deliver on our main ambitions, such as Pathways to Work, Love Where You Live, and the Great Childhoods Ambition.
“People will start to see some improvements over the year ahead, such as improvements to local parks and open spaces, our Barnsley MiCard, offering free bus travel for under-18s, and our school uniform voucher.
“These are all real, tangible things that will make a difference to people’s lives.
“The reason we’re able to do this is because we’re a well-managed and well-run, financially sound council.
“Some councils will have to use this grant to avoid going bankrupt.
“This is not the case in Barnsley, and we are pleased to be able to invest in our people and our communities because they deserve it after so many years of cuts.”
