Northumberland Labour welcomes real-terms boost and fairer funding for councils like Northumberland County Council

Labour’s Northumberland Leader has welcomed government plans to provide a real-terms 3.2% boost for councils across England – which will see councils like Northumberland County Council receive even more under plans to reform funding to provide more support for those with the highest need.

The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 includes a new £600 million Recovery Grant for areas most in need, an increase to the Social Care Grant by £680 million, a new £250 million Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant and the repurposing of grants to offer better value for money for the taxpayer and deliver better outcomes for local people, including the most vulnerable.

Outside of the Settlement, the government has also announced additional funding to support local government across a range of priorities, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and homelessness services, a guarantee of funding for the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR), as well as funding for potholes.

Labour’s Scott Dickinson MBE Leader of Northumberland Labour said,

“This is great news for Northumberland. Labour hasn’t just announced more support for councils – a 3.2% real terms boost – the government is also reforming council funding to ensure that areas like ours get a fairer share of support. 

“Going forward, Labour’s plans to give councils multi-year settlements isn’t just an accounting issue – it will mean councils like ours have the ability to plan for the future, and ensure that we best use our resources to provide as much help to local people as possible. Councils have been crying out for sensible reforms like these for years – and now Labour will deliver where the Tories failed.”

“It will take time for Labour to fix the foundations of a country that the Conservatives left broke and broken, but change has begun – and through today’s announcement we can be sure that means more support for the people in Northumberland who really need it.”