Yesterday the government announced what level of funding they would be giving to councils for next year.  From the wall-to-wall coverage this has been getting you would think that all councils are about to see the most savage cuts in service for generations.  The reality is a bit different.  The biggest reductions appear to be to the councils which have had the most money in the past, and the smallest cuts to those councils which have had the least.  

As it happens, a lot of the councils losing a lot of money are Labour controlled.   Unsurprisingly, Labour are shouting very loudly about unfairness.  Now, it is true that Labour councils tend to be in deprived areas and so need more money to cope.  But it is also true that  Labour did rather skew funding to selected areas.  And the biggest reduction is 8.9% this year, whereas it would take a cut of more like 89% to reduce them to the level of funding Wokingham gets.  

In Wokingham’s case things are nothing like as bad as anticipated. 

I have been told that the Conservatives on Wokingham Borough Council were preparing a budget for next year based on a reduction in funding of about 10%.  But the government has only reduced Wokingham’s funding by 0.63%, which is one of the smallest reductions for any council.      

As the reduction  is so small, there is no need for swingeing service cuts or huge hikes in what people have to pay for those services.  So if the Conservatives in Wokingham produce a budget for next year which includes either wholesale cuts or steep increases  in charges, Wokingham residents will know who to blame:  local Tories.

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