Councillors back motion calling on the Government to introduce a genuinely needs-based funding system.

East Riding “short-changed” by £62m funding hit, as services face the The East Riding is “set to be punished” by a £62m Government funding cut, Lib Dems warn.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is facing a £62 million funding hit over the next three-years and £33m a year thereafter under Government plans that Liberal Democrat councillors say would punish the area for being rural, coastal and having disproportionally more retired residents.

The proposals will make the East Riding one of the biggest losers among unitary authorities, despite mounting pressures on social care, children’s services and transport.

Speaking at Full Council, Cllr Phil Redshaw, Liberal Democrat councillor for Cottingham North, said the funding formula was “deeply flawed”.
“This isn’t fair funding — it’s a massive funding cut dressed up as reform,” he said.
“The East Riding is being penalised because the formula is deeply flawed. It ignores
the real cost of delivering services across rural communities and the additional
pressures of being a coastal authority.”

Cllr Redshaw said "The impact will be particularly severe for children with
special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The East Riding already
worst funded of 150 local authorities in the country for SEND and will see just a
2% increase under these proposals, compared with a national average of 6.4%. This
settlement does not close the gap, it drives it wider."

Cllr. Redshaw warned that "This is not a 'normal Budget cycle. Funding cuts
have consequences. We are facing a structural reduction in funding and the
Council will be forced to re-think how it operates." adding "We face the prospect of
having to both cut and fundamentally redesign many non-statutory services
from scratch. These are the services that keep communities safe, economies
functioning, roads usable and places attractive to live and invest in. Once
reduced or dismantled, they are exceptionally hard, and costly, to rebuild. This is
where the Government funding cuts are leading us."

Cllr Redshaw added "Council leaders have to take responsibility for the fact that we 

are behind the curve in addressing the levels of bureaucracy and infrastructure within 

this Council. The reset has been a long time coming and we are now in the last chance 

saloon, with a reliance on reserves to balance the budget no longer an option.

We will only deliver 70% of the transformational savings in this financial year, but  are expected to believe we can deliver 100% in 2026-27."

Cllr Denis Healy, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at East Riding of 

Yorkshire Council said: “This funding cut will be felt in towns and villages right across 

the East Riding.

“Residents already see the pressure on adult social care, SEND support and local transport, and this settlement makes those pressures even worse. 

Rural and coastal communities like ours cannot be treated as an afterthought. We are standing up for our residents and demanding a fair deal that recognises the real cost of running services and protects the support that families rely on every 

day.”

Councillors overwhelmingly backed a motion calling on the Government to scrap the 

settlement and introduce a genuinely needs-based funding system, with only the four 

Labour Councillors backing the Westminster Government's line and voting against 

the motion. 

"Unlike the Labour Group, we do not accept our communities being shortchanged,” said Cllr Redshaw.