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Local Government Finance: Disadvantaged

Asked by Tom MorrisonLiberal DemocratMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 4 March 2026UIN 116369

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Recovery Grant Guarantee to match the national average core spending power increase.

Answered by Alison McGovern

This Settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding need. By 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived.

We recognised that maintaining the Recovery Grant would not be enough for some councils to deliver visible service improvements over the next three years. The government announced an additional £440 million uplift to the Recovery Grant over the multi-year Settlement, specifically aimed at upper tier councils that would otherwise receive less than a 17% funding increase over the period. This will take the total funding allocated via the Recovery Grant and Recovery Grant Guarantee to £2.6 billion over the multi-year Settlement.

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