LIB DEM CAMPAIGNERS MAKE £9M BREAKTHROUGH (Julia Goldsworthy)

Julia Goldsworthy <info@juliagoldsworthy.org>

LIB DEM CAMPAIGNERS MAKE £9M BREAKTHROUGH

December 12, 2007 9:56 AM

Local MPs and Councillors are celebrating a victory which will win millions of pounds for Cornwall's local services.

After sustained pressure from Liberal Democrat Councillors and MPs the Government has agreed to scrap "dampening mechanisms" which cost Cornish councils tens of millions of pounds.

Historically funding mechanisms introduced by the Conservative Government left Cornwall struggling on well below average funding for public services. Labour have accepted that Cornwall - one of the poorest counties in the country - is in need of extra funding, but have imposed "dampening mechanisms" which meant that Cornwall's funding did not rise accordingly. Although formulas would suggest a higher level of funding this is then reduced to prevent a large rise in any single year, so as to avoid high costs to Government. Last year this cost Cornwall £25 million, the equivalent of over £100 on every council tax bill in the county.

However, continued pressure on the Government to review this policy has lead to an extra £9 million funding for local services for this year.

County Council Lib Dem Group Leader Bryan Preston says this is the result of a united campaign by Cornwall's elected Liberal Democrats. He commented:

'Under the last Conservative government, Cornwall was allowed far less funding than the national average for services like schools and care for the elderly. When Labour came to power they rightly admitted that this was unfair but then failed to give Cornwall the extra funding that meant. At last we are now getting at least some of that money - £9 million will make a big difference to a lot of local people."

The £9m won back by the campaigners will be matched by a further £9m made in efficiency savings at County Hall by the Liberal Democrats, allowing the County Council to increase funding for services like fire and care for the elderly.

While the Cornwall Liberal Democrats welcome the change, they insist that 'the fight must go on'.

Matthew Taylor MP, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Team for Cornwall, added:

"We may have won this battle, but the war is not over yet. School funding has just fallen even further behind the national average, with every child missing out by £350 per year, we still face Britain's highest water bills, and Labour's dampening mechanisms still cost Cornwall £16 million every year."