PM urged to come to Shropshire to see for himself 'how underfunded the county is'
Shropshire Council leader Peter Nutting is asking Prime Minister Boris Johnson to visit the county to see at first hand the impact the lack of funding is having.
Councillor Nutting has written an open letter to the Prime Minister to highlight the need for fairer funding and for the Government’s “levelling up” drive to apply also to rural areas such as Shropshire.
The letter shows that social care costs now account for 64 per cent of the Council’s annual budget of £226 million. The money supports around 10,000 people, about three per cent of the county’s population of 320,000.
With an increasing ageing population and more pressure around children’s social care, particularly following the pandemic, social care cost pressures are increasing, he says.
The council says it has only been able to meet the growing costs of social care by taking funding from other council services, such as highways, to help meet the shortfall. The letter says that this is now leading to historic underfunding for areas such as highways which is hitting Shropshire hard.
It also points out that In 2015, 55 per cent of the council’s £216 million net budget came from council tax. In 2020, the share of the £226 million net budget funded by council tax had risen to 72 per cent.
Councillor Nutting said: “I’m asking the Prime Minister for what is plain and simple for all here to see– the need for fairer funding for a rural county such as Shropshire.
Divert
“We only have so much money to spend and we must keep our vulnerable adults and children safe. But let’s make no bones about this, the state of our highways is caused by underinvestment, because we have had to divert funding away into social care.
“Social care costs are taking an ever-larger slice of the council’s budget – now almost two thirds – yet they touch only a very small proportion of the population.
“The Government’s aim to level up parts of the country that have been underfunded must also include places like Shropshire.
“I am urging the Prime Minister, come and see for yourself and ensure that Shropshire gets fair funding.”
The letter follows a motion by Councillor Gwilym Butler, passed at February's full council meeting urging the council to seek more support from Government compared with more urban areas.
