Wokingham Councillor Calls Grant Cuts Ludicrous

Public Accounts Committee, Labour MP Margaret Hodge, has said the suggestion that it gets double the funding it actually needs from government is “ludicrous”, reports the BBC. Hodge made the comments about Wokingham Borough Council.

But David Lee, leader of the Conservative-led authority, said it was already the lowest funded council.

“There was no way we could stand with our grant cut in half,” he added.

“It is essential that this money is distributed fairly, consistently and transparently – but we found that this is not always the case,” Lady Hodge said.

“It cannot be right that at a time of budget cuts that this results in Wokingham Council receiving double the funding it actually needs while many other local authorities, such as Dorset County Council, get much less than they require.”

But Mr Lee said: “At the moment we get £125 per resident.

“We were being compared to Dorset and they receive £160 per resident but they are a county council and they don’t provide a lot of the services that we provide.

“We’re getting even less than Dorset but yet they feel they are not getting as much as they require.”