Challenging Prime Minister on funding for Somerset
Taunton and Wellington’s MP, Gideon Amos, has challenged the Prime Minister to recognise Somerset’s 'remoteness factor' in its funding settlement from the government.
This 'remoteness factor' is designed to compensate rural councils for the significantly higher cost of delivering vital services including waste collection, social care workers, and transport to SEND schools across a huge area with a spread-out population, as well as maintaining and filling potholes for the vast network of rural roads.
Without this 'remoteness factor', these services must be entirely funded by increasing council tax or cutting services to remote areas.
Gideon recently secured a meeting for Somerset MPs with the Local Government Minister, Alison McGovern, to call for additional financial support, sufficient to prevent an 11 per cent Council Tax increase so Somerset County Council can continue to deliver these vital services.
He then spoke during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday to highlight the devastating implications of removing the 'remoteness factor', from all services save for adult social care, would have for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Gideon asked Sir Keir Starmer: "Children with disabilities and special educational needs in Somerset will be severely hit if the Government go ahead with removing the remoteness uplift from authorities.
“Will the Government commit to ensuring that councils with the largest land areas - of which Somerset is one - are properly reimbursed for the costs of remoteness, so that children in my constituency do not suffer?"
The Prime Minister replied: "We understand the challenges in rural communities, and we will look at that as part of the work we are doing on reform."
Following Prime Minister's Questions, Gideon said: "The South West is routinely overlooked by the Government, and refusing to recognise the rural premium Somerset County Council faces in funding vital services is just another example that could have serious consequences.
"SEND transport, social care provision, filling potholes and bin collections are all services that could take a hit without intervention and it's completely unacceptable for the Government to allow this to happen.
"If the Prime Minister seriously believes they understand the challenges facing rural communities, he would ensure that Somerset's remoteness factor is restored.
"The council is between a rock and a hard place being forced to make tough decisions to ensure residents across the county don't miss out on the services they desperately need."
Meanwhile, Somerset’s Liberal Democrat MPs are seeking further talks with government officials on the provisional funding settlement for the county.
After meeting Alison McGovern, they issued a joint statement, saying: “We called on the Minister to increase the level of government funding to ensure any Council Tax rise would be far more modest.
“We highlighted that, as the fifth biggest council by land area in the country, Somerset suffers massively from the removal of remoteness uplift which previously recognised the additional costs of providing services in sparsely populated areas.”
They added: “In a constructive meeting, the Minister listened carefully and invited us to submit more information, including on the costs of health and care.
“They must now acknowledge the impact their changes are having on Somerset and the pressures of delivering vital frontline services across our predominantly rural county.
“We will be taking up the offer of a further meeting with officials as soon as possible and will continue to press home the need for higher year-on-year funding from central government for Somerset.”
