THE leader of St Helens Council has slammed the “unfair” Government as the council braces itself for a year of uncertainty over future funding.

Speaking at this week’s cabinet meeting, Cllr Derek Long said the biggest threat to the council is the outcome of the Government’s fair funding formula, which is used to calculate baseline funding allocations for local authorities.

The Government intends to publish a series of technical consultations during mid-2018, followed by the ‘broad outlines’ of the new system in late 2018.

‘Indicative numbers’ will then be made available in spring to early summer 2019, followed by ‘final numbers’ in autumn 2019.

“At that point we need to start counting the silver, basically,” Cllr Long said.

Cllr Long pointed to Government cuts to the council’s special educational needs (SEN) out of borough budget, which was slashed by 88 per cent.

“Devon had a 30 per cent rise at that stage while Essex and some of the other main counties had three, four, five per cent increases,” Cllr Long said.

“We were cut by 88 per cent.

“So, if you are expecting a fair funding review – which is going to be beneficial to a Northern town such as ourselves – then think on.

“It’s an unfair Government and I think it’s not going to be a fair funding review.

“So that is the biggest threat lying underneath all of these enormous pressures, that, in due course we will find even further reductions in our budget.

“And that is unconscionable as far as I’m concerned.”

Deputy leader Andy Bowden accused the Government of using the funding review to shift resources away from the North.

“There’s nothing fair about it, it’s about shifting resources away from the North to Tory shires and Tory authorities,” Cllr Bowden said.

“That’s not speculation, that’s not about making a political point. All the evidence is there.

“That’s what will happen.”

Cath Fogarty, strategic director for corporate services, told members the council faces “significant financial uncertainty” beyond 2019-20.

Cllr Gill Neal, cabinet member for better health, told members she has “huge concerns” over the loss of a £14 million Public Health grant after 2019-2020.

Cllr Long said the demands placed on the council significantly exceed the supply of cash needed in order to respond to it.

He said this applied particularly to the council’s statutory duties in as adult social care, children’s services and to a lesser extent, education.

The Labour councillor said the council currently expend 75 per cent of its budget in those three areas.

“If you were running a business and you were trying to manage that sort of situation, three quarters of your budget are exposed to a potentially infinite demand in some senses,” Cllr Long said.

“So that’s an enormous challenge for any organisation to come to terms with.”

Cllr Long said the Government has given no indication whether the council will continue to receive funding for social care post 2019-2020, which is something members have to “come to terms with”.

Adult social care portfolio holder Marlene Quinn said St Helens has been “victimised” in past funding reviews and hopes the latest one will be more favourable.

“Our children’s services need that money, our social care money needs that money,” she said.

“And when you’ve said 75 per cent of the money we get is going in those two areas, I look at the rest of our population and wonder why they think our council doesn’t deliver all these things that they can see in other boroughs, in other towns, in other parts of the country.

“It’s because of the demand here and the lack of resources or even acknowledgement by this Government.”