Local Government Services: Coastal Areas and Rural Areas
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to ensure that funding allocations for (a) rural and (b) coastal communities adequately (i) recognise and (i) reflect the additional costs of delivering services in those areas.
Answered by Alison McGovern
From 2026-27 we want to fundamentally improve the way we fund local authorities and direct funding to where it is needed most.
The Fair Funding Review 2.0 set out a proposal for an updated assessment that will effectively account for the different needs felt by communities across the country including considering the impact of remoteness on costs faced by rural and coastal communities, and the impact of commuters and tourists on major cities and coastal towns alike.
The consultation invited respondents to provide additional evidence for the impact of remoteness on the cost of delivering services.
We are reviewing responses and will publish more details in the consultation response in Autumn, followed by the provisional local government finance settlement.
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