AN upcoming review into local government finances could shift more resources into the south, the leader of St Helens Council has warned.

The government’s upcoming fair funding review aims at providing a new system for allocating funding between councils.

However, St Helens Council leader Derek Long told the audit and governance committee this week that he fears the funding review could potentially be “bad news” for the authority.

“The fair funding review will be a fundamental challenge to this council’s expenditure, as if the past 10 years have not been such a challenge.

“We are hoping the government will live up to the phrase that it will be a fair funding review, but we fear that it may result in the transfer of resources, yet more resources to southern boroughs, southern county councils.

“And that is bad news, potentially for the council.

“So, we are hoping, against hope that it will be a fair funding review, but we will wait and see.”

Last month the government confirmed it will aim for set dates each year for the provisional and final local government finance settlements, in an effort to give local authorities more certainty to plan its budgets.

Rishi Sunak, minister for Local Government, outlined the move in a response to an independent review into the department’s oversight of the business rates system.

The review, led by former Director General at HM Treasury Andrew Hudson, found the department’s processes for managing the local government finance system should be strengthened further.

This is in anticipation of future challenges from the forthcoming fair funding review, the 2019 spending review and the changes to business rates and their retention by local authorities.

The review also found the timetable for announcing both the provisional and final local government settlements has over the past few years moved to later in the year, allowing less time for scrutiny and for local authorities to set their budgets.

In a letter to Clive Betts, Chair of the Housing Select Committee, Mr Sunak confirmed the department will accept all of the recommendations in the review and said the department is aiming to publish the provisional settlement for 2019 to 2020 on December 6.

Mr Sunak said: “We recognise taking a more planned approach towards the provisional local government finance settlement in future will be fundamental to ensuring local authorities are given more certainty, and the time and space to consider their financial positions for the coming year.

“With this in mind we will aim to publish the provisional and final settlements on or around the same dates every year from this December.”