The Member of Parliament for Pickering and Filey, Kevin Hollinrake, has launched a sharp critique of the government's latest local council funding settlement, claiming it fundamentally disadvantages rural communities such as North Yorkshire.
The MP and Conservative Party Chairman argued that the current financial trajectory will leave residents in the countryside paying more for a diminished level of service.
The Rural-Urban Funding Gap
At the heart of the dispute is what Mr Hollinrake describes as a clear "urban bias" in the distribution of government funds. Citing independent analysis from the Rural Services Network, he noted a significant disparity in "spending power" between different types of local authorities. According to the MP, while urban councils are projected to receive an approximate 21% boost in government-funded spending, the most rural areas are expected to see increases of only 1%.
The financial pressure on local households is further compounded by existing council tax rates. Mr Hollinrake highlighted that rural residents are already paying roughly 20% more in council tax than those in urban areas, a measure taken to compensate for years of historical underfunding.
The High Cost of Sparsity
Mr Hollinrake argued that the government's funding formula fails to account for the unique logistical challenges of providing essential services across large, sparsely populated regions. He pointed to the specific difficulties of maintaining "vital services" in areas such as the moors, where the geographic spread makes routine tasks significantly more expensive than in densely populated cities.
Reflecting on the local landscape and the financial outlook, Mr Hollinrake stated:
"We're very lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. These are the moors. Beautiful part of the world.
Where we're not lucky is how much funding we get to provide services in these areas. Because of the sparsity of the population, you imagine sending a district nurse or a bin man to come and collect your your rubbish around here. It's expensive to provide that service.
Yet, with the government's new funding formula, we're getting a worst deal. And our funding actually drops from currently about £364 a head in funding down to 338."
Concerns Over Future Funding Drops
The MP expressed concern that the new settlement represents a real-terms cut for North Yorkshire over the coming years. He claimed that while urban funding is on the rise, rural funding is set to decline, which he characterised as a "war on rural England" by the Labour government.
In a further assessment of the funding divide, Mr Hollinrake said:
"Urban areas are getting a better deal. Urban areas, their funding is increasing by 21% a head. Yet while funding in these areas like this, North Yorkshire dropping by 7% in real terms over the next 3 four years.
It's just not fair. It's supposed to be a fair funding formula. It's anything but fair.
And that's another thing this Labour government is doing is preferring urban areas over rural areas in so many ways, not least in the amount of funding provided to provide our vital services."
Mr Hollinrake, who formerly served as the Shadow Local Government Secretary, has vowed to continue campaigning for a funding system that recognises the true costs associated with delivering services in the countryside. He maintains that the current settlement is merely the latest example of policies that force rural communities to pay more for less.
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