Row breaks out between Rotherham Council and MP over 'astonishing' £10million funding claims

Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford wrote that he was “bitterly disappointed” after Rotherham Council approved a rent rise for council tenants on January 14.

On his Facebook page, Mr Stafford wrote: “I am bitterly disappointed by the decision Labour-run Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has taken today to increase council house rent by 1.5 per cent and garage rent by 2 per cent in the midst of a global pandemic. We all need all the help we can get during these difficult times.

“This is after Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has been given £10,310,000 in extra budget funding from the government next year.”

The council’s analysis of the Conservative Party’s claims show that although Rotherham Council’s overall revenue funding stands at £10.3 million, the council will receive just £2.4 million extra from the government.

Rotherham Council’s finance team crunched the numbers and found that in order to reach the £10.3 million claimed by Mr Stafford, council tax bills would have be raised by almost seven per cent.

The rise, equivalent to an extra £125 for a Band D property, would be higher than the government’s referendum threshold.

Research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies found that of the £2.2 billion increase in funding for local councils for next year, less than £0.3 billion is from the government.

The other £1.9 billion is from increases in council tax bills of up to five per cent.

Councillor Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council said: “It’s astonishing that Conservative propaganda is being pushed by one of the borough’s MPs to mislead residents about the funding for services like bin collections, libraries and social care.

“Most of the money they are talking about simply doesn’t exist. That the Tories are pushing more costs on to council taxpayers everywhere is quite bad enough, but once again we can see clearly how Rotherham is amongst the hardest hit places.

“Quite obviously we won’t be taking up Mr Stafford’s suggestion of the biggest council tax rise in the country, and neither will we be cancelling the much needed investment in building new council homes for local people.”

Mr Stafford replied: “The Government has provided extra money this year to RMBC, including millions of pounds which RMBC actually handed back to the Government as they hadn’t handed it out to local businesses struggling with Covid.

“RMBC must take responsibility for getting their financial matters in order, rather than blaming others and trying to pass the financial burden onto residents.”