Calls for fairer funding deal for City of York Council

Councillors backed calls to review how York and other authorities get their share of national funding calculated after hearing London boroughs tended to fair better than northern cities.

Labour’s Cllr Ben Burton said years of unfair funding based on formulas using data from the 1990s had left the council’s finances in crisis.

Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said low NHS funding had also seen residents struggle to get GP and dentist appointments, with successive governments failing to address the issue.

It comes as the council launched a consultation with residents this week to ask them what they would prioritise as budgets face cuts of £30 million over the next three years.

The council has already had to find £14 million in savings this financial year, including cutting £600,000 from York Explore which runs the city’s libraries over two years.

Finance Executive Member Cllr Katie Lomas said the authority faced having to make unpalatable choices about what to cut after York had lost an estimated £43 million in funding since 2010.

Concerns about York’s finances come as Birmingham City Council, Nottingham City Council and others have had to issue Section 114 notices in the last year, effectively declaring bankruptcy.

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Cllr Lomas told reporters earlier this week there was no immediate risk of York having to issue a Section 114 Notice.

Council leader Cllr Claire Douglas told councillors on Wednesday, July 17, that the authority was in the queue with other public services to get more funding and she had asked for it.

Cllr Claire Douglas (Image: Staff)

But she added setting the budget for the next financial year would be difficult and said it was only right to have a conversation with residents about their priorities.

Cllr Burton said there was an urgent need to address the way York is funded.

The Labour Heworth ward councillor said: “For over a decade public services have faced real terms cuts.

“Not investing in public services means not repairing roads which results in injuries, it means families that should have received help earlier fall into crises that they may never recover from.

“Funding formulas are woefully out of date, fixing them would do much to level up areas like York.

“We’re in a crisis, it’s important that we speak up about this.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr Ayre said the funding position of the council was far bleaker now than when the authority first began looking for savings in 2009.

He added the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated that York received £3,642 per person in funding from the Government compared to the national average of £4,310.

The Heworth Without ward councillor said: “Local authorities are struggling to provide services due to their low core spending power.

“York is also one of the lowest-funded areas for the NHS and policing.

“We’ve all spoken to residents who’ve struggled to get a GP appointment and it’s impossible to get an NHS dentist in North Yorkshire, public services are at breaking point.”