Making a difference to the people of Medway
Labour government cuts another £4.3m from Medway Council’s budget through floor damping, making it £24m since 2006
Press release posted on Monday, 14 December 2009
Medway Council is yet again facing a swingeing cut to its budget for next year.
According to the Local Government Settlement, the Labour government is to take £4.3m from Medway under the floor damping mechanism.
Since 2006 this has resulted in Medway losing out on almost £24m – the equivalent of building a new secondary school or reducing council tax bills by a quarter for every resident in Medway.
Every year the government outlines what funding Medway requires and then claws back part of it to give to others.
The so-called floor damping mechanism is designed to ensure all councils receive a minimum level of funding, but in reality it results in some local authorities getting more than they need, whilst others, including Medway, receive less than is required to run its vital services.
Medway Council is already facing a £8 million shortfall next year – significantly worsened by the Labour government’s use of floor damping.
Deputy Leader Alan Jarrett said:
“Yet again this Labour government is taking away, through the floor damping, the funds that Medway Council needs to run its services and gives it to others. They are taking £4.3m from next year’s budget, which means that since 2006 Medway has lost out on almost £24m worth of funding. This is robbing the residents of Medway of the services that they deserve.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Medway Council’s Local Government Settlement for 2010/11 can be found here
The following figures give details of Medway Council’s cuts through the Floor Damping Mechanism for each year since 2006
| Floor Damping | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2006-07 | -£4.755m |
| 2007-08 | -£4.519m |
| 2008-09 | -£5.502m |
| 2009-10 | -£4.857m |
| 2010-11 | -£4.320m |
| Total | -£23.953m |