'Cut to the bone': SIGOMA councils call for a bigger share of funding

Posted on June 16, 2025

In the wake of the Spending Review, our Vice Chair, Chair, and the Leader of Stoke Council spoke to The i about the plight of local government finances:

‘Chapman – who is also vice-chair of the SIGOMA group of urban councils, mainly in the North and Midlands – said a major “rebalancing” in the local government funding formula was needed so deprived areas like Nottingham get a bigger share.

“The funding formulas for more than a decade have essentially moved funding away from deprived areas,” said Chapman. “The poorer the area, the more funding you lost. I call it levelling down.”

“So we need fairer funding,” he added. “It will help councils in deprived areas at least kept their heads above water. It’s not going to lead to the land of milk and honey”…

Labour leader of Barnsley Council Stephen Houghton, who is also chair of SIGOMA, which represents 49 urban authorities mainly in the North and Midlands, said fairer funding was vital … “Failing to do that will mean more cuts to services in deprived areas,” said the Labour council boss’…

Stoke-on-Trent City Council raised council tax by just under 5 per cent as it made £8m-worth of cuts and savings. Jane Ashworth, the Labour council leader, said: “We’ve pretty much run out of edges to trim.”’

You can read the full article here.