‘We are finally turning a corner’: Spen Valley MP welcomes £146.3 million council funding boost to help ‘make real difference for our community’
Kirklees Council is “finally turning a corner” as it is set to receive a £146.3 million funding boost.
The funding injection from the government will see England’s councils have £78 billion made available for essential services, as it aims to “restore pride and opportunity in left behind places.”
The financial boost has been welcomed by Labour MPs across Kirklees, including Kim Leadbeater, MP for Spen Valley, who said:
“For too long, councils like ours in Kirklees were neglected and left behind. We all felt it and we paid the price in our communities. Labour’s fair funding boost means the services we rely on - libraries, social care, clean streets - are finally getting the resources they need.
“This Government is making a real difference for our community with £146.3 million worth of investment over five years. The difference this will make cannot be underestimated.”
In total, councils across the country will see a 23.6 per cent increase in their core spending power in 2028-29 compared to 2024-25 to pay for services including bin collections, housing, and children’s services.
Coun Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration at Kirklees Council, said:
“After years of austerity for councils across the country, we are finally turning a corner. We’ve had to take difficult decisions on some local services in recent years but we are now in a much more stable financial position.
“Now, with extra funding support from the government, we can focus even harder on the priorities that really matter to residents.
“That’s why our draft budget for the coming year includes extra funding to tackle fly-tipping, it deals with rising demand for a range of key local services and continues the major economic regeneration we’re already seeing in Huddersfield, Dewsbury and beyond.”