MP’s attempt at fairer funding

MP Sir John Hayes has twice in recent weeks brought up the issue of fairer funding for Lincolnshire.

The Conservative MP for South Holland and the Deepings since 1997 last week raised the issue with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions.
He asked if the PM will: “Review the local government and police funding formulas as a matter of urgency so that Lincolnshire can have a fair deal?”
“It is through Lincolnshire’s roads that foodstuffs grown in our fine county are transported across the nation, but the highways authority struggles to fund the roads because of the skewed funding formula devised by a previous Labour government.
“So many of our public services suffer in the same way, policing included.”
The Conservatives have been in power since 2010.
In response, the Prime Minister said Sir John “is entirely right to stand up for the particular needs of his rural community” and added: “Like him, I recognise that the costs of providing services are often higher in rural areas, and it is right for us to reflect that in funding formulas where we can do so.”
Recently Sir John raised the issue of police funding in the House of Commons with Policing Minister Chris Philip and a meeting with him and other MPs from the county to discuss the funding formula is now set for June.
In a press release, Sir John said “I welcome the Prime Minister’s support, and I will do all I can to ensure our area gets the funding it needs.
“For too long, rural areas like south Lincolnshire get a raw deal with funding formulas skewed towards urban areas and wealthier parts of the country.
“The government simply must look at these formulas again so that Lincolnshire gets a better, fairer deal for services, including roads and police.”