Chairman,
At our recent Lincolnshire Leaders meeting it was
agreed around the table, we should collectively lobby government
for a fairer funding deal.
Chairman, I am asking if you would in the first instance allow a show of hands from members who would support a united county wide effort to lobby Government for a fair and equitable funding settlement for Lincolnshire.
Second, would you allow a short debate and suggestions from members
for subjects which may be more specific to the needs of West
Lindsey which could be added to future spending
initiatives?
This would enable me to return to the next County meeting with
hopefully your councils support.
I so move.
Councillor J Summers
Leader of Council
Minutes:
Councillor Jeff Summers had submitted the following motion:-
At our recent Lincolnshire Leaders meeting it was agreed around the table, we should collectively lobby government for a fairer funding deal.
Chairman.
I am asking if you would in the first instance allow a show of hands from members who would support a united county wide effort to lobby Government for a fair and equitable funding settlement for Lincolnshire.
Second, would you allow a short debate and suggestions from Members for subjects which may be more specific to the needs of West Lindsey which could be added to future spending initiatives? This would enable me to return to the next County meeting with hopefully your councils support.
I so move.
Councillor J Summers
Leader of Council
Before moving to debate the Leader was permitted to put his motion into context, and stated the following: -
During my time as a West Lindsey Councillor, 15 years in all. We as a council have complained about the unfair distribution of Government Funding to Rural Authorities. A justified stance when you compare the rate of investment per capita between a city resident and one living in an area designated as suffering the inequalities described under sparsity. Much of this inequity could have been resolved with a devolution deal, however this was not to be. As a result we cannot negotiate but only look for allies and lobby.
It has been calculated, if Lincolnshire were to receive the average payment across England, then the Geographical County would receive a further £116 million extra per annum.
Obvious areas where this extra support could be spent are Highways and maintenance, broadband, flood defences, health, leisure and attracting more business with improved work opportunities. As you will have noticed many of these items are not the responsibility of district councils but all do affect our living environment and wellbeing.
The motion was seconded by the Deputy Leader and debate ensued.
All Members across the Chamber were supportive of the stance, there was a view that greater use of all the Lincolnshire MPs should be made in any lobbying campaign and these MPs should make a united stance.
The Leader confirmed that North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Councils were engaged in these discussion, however this was not an attempt to re-unite devolution conversations.
Members also encouraged greater use of such organisations as SPARSE and the LGA to support the Council in its quest for a fairer funding deal.
All were in agreement that there was a need to make the Government clearly understand the extra costs that came with being a rural area. It was further suggested that other shires such as Norfolk and East Yorkshire should also be encouraged to join the campaign as there was a genuine belief the greater the number the stronger the message.
Further debate ensued and during the course of this the following areas in need of greater investment were suggested: -
· Transport
· Schools and Education
· Police
· Social Services and Adult Social Care
· Infrastructure
The Leader thanked Members for their support and undertook to take the views expressed by Members to the next County Leaders Meeting.