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A council campaigning group says that Sheffield Council has seen a 27 per cent cut in government funding over the past 13 years, in line with what has been lost by the poorest 10 per cent of councils.

SIGOMA, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities, says that its research shows that, on average, the top 10 per cent of poorest councils in England have received a 28.3 per cent cut in funding since 2010.

In contrast, the top richest 10 per cent of councils have received only a 10.1 per cent cut on average during the same period.

Government funding represented more than 55 per cent of council’s core spending power in 2013-14 but now represents just 37 per cent, says SIGOMA.

Sheffield City Council has lost 27 per cent of government funding since 2010, says councils campaign group SIGOMA

At the same time, the percentage of council funding from local revenue – such as council tax – has increased to more than 62 per cent in 2023 as local authorities try to plug the funding gap, an increase of almost 18 per cent since 2013, when it was 45 per cent of funding.

Sheffield is the hardest hit of the four South Yorkshire authorities. The figures show a 23.1 per cent drop in Barnsley, a 25.8 per cent decrease in Doncaster and a fall of 22 per cent in Rotherham.

SIGOMA says that in 2013-14 the government paid £4.9 billion more in grants than councils handed over in business rates.

Sheffield Council has suffered 27 per cent cut in government funding, says campaign