Michael Fallon

MINISTER “HAD NO ANSWERS” ON SEVENOAKS COUNCIL GRANT
Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon, Council Leader Cllr Peter Fleming and Deputy Chief Executive Dr Pav Ramewal met Local Government Minister Barbara Follett last week to discuss the central government grant to Sevenoaks District Council. Mr Fallon said:

“Mrs Follett listened sympathetically and gave credit for Sevenoaks Council’s consistently good performance. But she had no proper explanation for the very low level of grant, year after year, from the government. She did invite the council to re-submit its case in time for next year’s settlement which SDC will now do. However, it’s obvious that, while this government remains in office, Sevenoaks will remain at the bottom of the pile.”
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March 15th, 2010
MP TO MEET MINISTER ON SEVENOAKS COUNCIL GRANT
Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon is to meet Local Government Minister Barbara Follett on Tuesday 23rd March to discuss the central government grant to Sevenoaks District Council.  The meeting at the House of Commons will also be attended by Council Leader Peter Fleming.  Mr Fallon said:  “Sevenoaks District Council has had a very raw deal from the government.  Its grant has gone up just under 7 per cent in eleven years whilst the average district council has had an increase of over 50 per cent.   Ministers need to understand that Sevenoaks has to provide essential services like every other council.  The district also includes less wealthy areas such as parts of Swanley and north Sevenoaks, yet we’ve had a consistently low increase in central government grant.  Cllr Fleming and I want to persuade Mrs Follett to carry out a full review of our grant.  It’s unfair that council taxpayers in Sevenoaks should have to pay more each year to protect services when central government discriminates against our council.”

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February 4th, 2010
Sevenoaks MP Michael Fallon has demanded a meeting with Local Government Minister Barbara Follett over what he calls “systematic discrimination” against Sevenoaks District Council.   The answer to a Parliamentary Question earlier this month revealed that the central government grant to Sevenoaks District Council had increased by less than 7 per cent over the last eleven years against an average 51 per cent increase for all shire districts.   Mr Fallon said:  “It’s obvious that Sevenoaks is getting a very raw deal.  I will be asking the Minister to explain why we should be discriminated against so systematically.”
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Jan 6th, 2010
Local Government Finance – Parliamentary Question
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government grant was per capita for the (a) Sevenoaks, (b) Sedgefield, (c) Chorley and (d) average English district in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2008-09. [308414]

Barbara Follett: The Government grant per capita for Sevenoaks, Sedgefield, Chorley and the average shire districts in England in 1997-98 and 2008-09 is as follows:

The definition of central Government grant used here is the sum of formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed non-domestic rates) and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF), i.e. revenue grants paid for council’s core services. For 2008-09 it also includes Area Based Grant (ABG).
Figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities’ core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, rent allowances and rebates), capital grants, funding for the local authorities’ housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.
Per capita figures are calculated using Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Mid-Year Population estimates for 1997 and 2008.
Comparison across years may not be valid owing to changing local authority responsibilities and local authority reorganisation.