Lib Dems call on Surrey's 11 MPs to vote against "inadequate" government funding
Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey have written to the county's 11 MPs asking them to vote against the Local Government Finance Settlement in Parliament on Wednesday 7th February. The Settlement sets out the level of funding from central government to local councils for the next financial year, and has been widely criticised for failing to address the financial problems that many councils face.
Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:
"The financial position of Surrey County Council is extremely poor, caused by a number of factors including local decisions taken by the Conservative administration at County Hall and reductions in funding from central government. Furthermore, the government has failed to address the crisis in adult social care, phased out transitional funding which was worth £12m to the County Council last year, and has not provided adequate funding for the extremely high number of adults with learning disabilities who live in Surrey.
"This Local Government Finance Settlement does not provide the resources that Surrey County Council needs, and instead increases the pressure on already over stretched public services. In the light of this poor outcome for Surrey residents, we have written to all of Surrey's MPs asking them vote against the settlement on Wednesday 7th February. If they do support it, despite the clear damage it will cause to public services, Surrey residents will ask the question: "Why are they putting party loyalty ahead of their duty to protect local services?"
Cllr Watson's email to Surrey MPs can be found here: