SIGOMA MP Chair: 'The Fair Funding Review is a once in a generation opportunity to level the playing field'

Posted on October 20, 2025

Writing in LabourList, SIGOMA MP Group Chair, Sally Jameson MP, outlines why the Fair Funding Review represents a major opportunity for England's most deprived communities: 

‘Policies like the 100% Council Tax equalisation could see up to £1.5bn extra in grant funding distributed to SIGOMA areas, helping to rebalance funding due to the limited council tax raising ability of some of our smaller towns and cities, while the new Children’s Formula based on deprivation-related criteria will help us invest more in giving young people the best start in life. 

 The move to a multi-year settlement will also help our members plan for the longer term, ending the short-term approach which yearly settlements have necessitated.’ 

 Our MP Group Chair also highlights how our members are disadvantaged by limited Council Tax and business rates bases, as well as lower collection rates: 

‘Unlike parts of London and some of the wealthier areas in the South, our members are limited in their ability to grow their Council Tax base and benefit from retaining local business rates or generating income through car parking and other commercial income.  

Equally, more deprived areas also tend to have lower collection rates, reducing an authority’s income and leading to a doom loop of further cuts to services alongside increases in Council Tax bills.  

All of this is to the detriment of the communities that we serve, and whose lives are made even more challenging as a result.’ 

You can read the full article on LabourList here: https://labourlist.org/2025/10/fair-funding-review-sally-jameson-doncaster/