Fair Funding 2.0: "A significant step towards a fairer and more balanced funding system"

Posted on November 20, 2025

As the government set out its final position on the Fair Funding Review, our Chair, Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, welcomed many of the vital reforms which SIGOMA has long-championed:

"The government’s Fair Funding Review 2.0 is a vital opportunity to correct historic imbalances in council funding, and we are pleased that many long-awaited reforms that SIGOMA has campaigned for over the last decade are finally being delivered.

We strongly welcome the government’s decision to continue to distribute the Recovery Grant on its current basis: to the most deprived areas that can raise less from council tax.  As the government rightly says, ‘the recovery is not over’, and the continuation of this vital funding along with the introduction of the Recovery Grant Guarantee will mean that councils can continue to rebuild from the devastating impact of austerity.

These reforms mark a significant step towards a fairer and more balanced funding system for councils across the country, and this approach is underpinned by a reaffirmed commitment to fully account for local variations in council tax-raising ability.

The announcements today are very encouraging, and we look forward to analysing these proposals further. We will continue to work closely with ministers to continue to support the recovery of the most deprived areas whilst building a fairer funding system."