A senior councillor in the East Riding has hit out at government cuts to funding in the area, saying it'll lead to increased isolation.
Conservative Richard Meredith says residents could suffer under the changes from the Labour government:
" Isolation is a form of deprivation. Isolation can be geographic, but it can also result from an absence of service. Those isolated from support and facilities are deprived of these things. Those isolated from opportunities will remain deprived, ensuring the economic, educational, environmental, mental.
"Physical and recreational wellbeing of our residents is vital, deprivation needs to be addressed, and it's right that government is doing this, but it is only one side of the coin. Isolation affects all in exactly the same manner and so isolation is the other side of this very same coin. Government has only recognised deprivation as a measure, and in doing so has left large swathes of the country to provide much, much more with much, much less."
Councillor Meredith says the changes are unfair:
"This government's policy is punishing areas like ours. It's making us deliver what others do with much, much less than they have the ability to do. So it's pushing money towards those who've shown they deliver worse. Councils that don't collect bins for better parts of the year, councils that de declare bankruptcy are getting the money that should be in the pockets of this council to deliver for our residents.
"We are being quite literally robbed. Government has said that we have to set council tax at the maximum level moving forward indefinitely. That removes our ability to decide on local decision making. Cast your mind back 10 years. At that time, government actually said for every percent we don't raise council tax, they'll give us the equivalent of half a percent.
"We were encouraged to reduce the tax burden on our residents. Now we're being punished if we don't set it at the maximum."
For 2026/27, local government funding focuses on stabilising services via a £2.6 billion Better Care Fund, increased support for deprived areas, and consolidated grants to provide long-term certainty. Councils face intense pressure, with 30 requiring exceptional financial support in 2025/26. Key changes include updated funding formulas and continued reliance on council tax, which could rise by up to 2.99% without a referendum.
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