England's lowest-funded councils ask to level up local finances

A group of the lowest-funded councils across England has called for the government to provide a £300 million funding to level up local finances, the BBC reported.

The F20 group, led by Leicestershire County Council, also includes authorities in York, Bath and Luton.

According to Warrington's deputy leader Cathy Mitchell, councils had been asked to do more, with less for too long.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Labour-controlled Warrington was the latest council to join the cross-party group.

The group's push for funding follows the publication of a report by Tory think-tank UK Onward in September, which found that the current system of funding meant local authorities such as Warrington, Staffordshire and Leeds had "low core spending power" (CSP) whilst places like Islington and Westminster had a high level of CSP, the BBC report added.

The report concluded that without additional financial support, those authorities with low CSP will struggle to provide essential and valued services to their local communities.

According to the report, a fair funding review was crucial and needed as soon as possible, with a temporary mechanism also required to support those authorities in most danger of becoming unsustainable and in risk of financial collapse.

The BBC report said that Mitchell has written to communities minister Michael Gove and minister of state Kemi Badenoch to press the need for more funding.

Her letter follows a meeting of the leaders of the councils in the group earlier in December.

"Without further financial support, councils with the lowest spending power will find it even more challenging to continue providing the services that our residents depend on. We call on the secretary of state to provide us with the additional support we so desperately need," she was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Leicestershire's Conservative leader Nick Rushton said momentum was "building" among councils and added that the think tank's short-term solution would see an extra £300m injected into the system.