Karl McCartney MP has welcomed the decentralising local government financial settlement which marks the dawn of long-term financial certainty for councils. The settlement transforms local government, making Local Government in Lincolnshire more answerable to local people rather than Central Government.
After listening to the needs of local councils the settlement takes the unprecedented step of giving councils a four-year budget so they can plan for the future. This will allow local authorities in Lincolnshire to plan for the services local people need with confidence. Councils will also receive 100 per cent of business rates by 2020 to invest in the community,
Multi-year financial settlement gives councils the confidence and long-term certainty they need to responsibly plan their future finances, allowing, for example, Lincolnshire County Council to also make best use of their reserves of £152.2m in the local area.
We are looking after our ageing population so that we are supporting people at every stage of their lives. To support the most vulnerable in Lincolnshire, the settlement prioritises elderly care. By 2020, £3.5 billion will be available for adult social care, distributed fairly towards local authorities with adult social care responsibilities.
Karl McCartney MP, said: ‘After decades of campaigning this is a historic settlement for local government, giving local councils more power to serve the needs of local people. The settlement protects funding available for councils over next four years and prioritises caring for the elderly.
‘The rules and days of Central Government using centrally collected taxes to bail out and prop up local government district councils are changing. Our councils will now find that they can no longer hide behind anyone else for their mistakes and we are putting a stop to them using taxpayers' money to fund political ego massaging so that money is only spent on the services people need.
‘Businesses and residents of Lincoln can breathe easier as they will now see through the transparency of local tax collection and spending exactly what their taxes pay for, and hence Lincoln City Labour Councillors need to realise that there is no longer a magic money tree in the garden of Central Government to pay for their whims and politically correct self-aggrandisement.
‘This settlement shows the power of devolution, resources have been made available for local councils, and we are in a great position to provide the services local people need and continue to serve the community’.
- ENDS -
For further information, please contact Karl McCartney MP at [email protected] / 020 7219 7221.