BARNSLEY Council leader Sir Steve Houghton has lobbied the government in order to secure a better deal for local authorities.

His role as chair of the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA) - which covers 50 councils - resulted in a £10m, three-year deal for the town.

He said: “In Barnsley we’ve proposed not to put council tax up by the maximum amount this year.

“That’s not because we don’t need that money, it’s because we know so many people in Barnsley don’t have that money to spare.

“We’re only able to do that due to many years of being a financially well-run council.

“We’ve made difficult decisions when needed and have had a long-term approach to our day-to-day finances.

“But we’ve long argued that the model for local government funding isn’t fair.

“It’s not sustainable to force areas like Barnsley, where there’s extremely high demands on services like children’s and adult social care, to simply pass those costs onto local council taxpayers year after year.

“This additional funding is an important step towards fairer funding, targeting money where it’s needed most.

“This will help us deliver the high-quality public services local people need, like caring for older people and fixing potholes.”