The Rural Services Network (RSN) is pleased that the Final Settlement for Local Government, announced last week in Parliament with a written statement from the Minister, includes the additional £4 Million pounds for the Rural Services Delivery Grant set out in the Provisional Statement

The RSN has long argued that rural areas are underfunded by Government and the Provisional Settlement meant that:

• Urban areas would receive some 61% (£107) per head in Settlement Funding Assessment grant more than their rural counterparts
• Rural residents will pay, on average, 19% (£96) per head more in Council Tax than their urban counterparts due to receiving less government grant

The additional £4 Million included within the RSDG is not however enough to compensate all rural authorities for the extra costs they incur due to sparsity and the RSN has campaigned to have the definition of who receives the grant, widened.

The written statement is available at this link.

The Final Settlement showed no material changes from the Provisional Settlement, with the only movements being within the New Homes Bonus (NHB) and the Lower Tier Services Grant (LTSG) allocations. These are very minor changes, however.

It will be debated in Parliament on Wed 10th Feb:
https://calendar.parliament.uk/calendar/Commons/All/2021/2/10/Daily