Shropshire Council leader writes to Philip Hammond over fairer funding bid

Shropshire Council leader Malcolm Pate has asked for a meeting with the chancellor in a bid to secure fairer funding for the authority.

Councillor Pate said the council has made its case clear to Sajid Javid, the secretary of state for local government, but now he has taken his protests further.

The authority is facing huge financial shortfalls in its social care budget and the leader and other senior councillors have previously taken their case for a fairer allocation of funding to Westminster.

Today, councillor Pate said that while he appreciates the problems central government faces, they must understand the needs of people in Shropshire and has asked for a meeting with Philip Hammond.

He said: "We have now made the case to ministers, Gareth Jones and Sajid Javid, about what our problem is. They must understand it.

"We simply can't fund social care from business rates and council tax in a place like Shropshire. We have made the case as far as we can.

"We understand the government's national problems and they need to sort the mess out left by Labour but what we are talking about is the way the money is distributed.

"I am still waiting on a reply to my letter to Sajid Javid. Goverment keep squeezing the lemon and we keep managing so they keep on squeezing.

"When we met the ministers I said there was no more juice left to squeeze and all that was left is skin."

Councillor Pate said the council was putting strategies in place to help plug the gap should no help be available from government. The authority is pressing on with economic and industrial strategies in a bid to attract businesses to the county.

He said: "We are not just sitting here waiting to be bailed out, we are making plans to help ourselves but we are also doing everything we can to lobby government.

"I have now written and asked for a meeting with Philip Hammond. All we are asking is for fairness, not more than anybody else.

"We want to be treated fairly. We are so underfunded somebody has got to understand that.

"All we are asking for is a fair share of what is available."