By Daniel Wood
A review of local government spending suggests that Kirklees Council could lose millions in social care funding.
A variety of Yorkshire councils are set to face potential losses of up to £77million.
This is according to a Labour group on the Local Government Association (LGA), in a funding review set out to redistribute cash throughout the various councils across the country.
The biggest losses are for Leeds (£11.3m), Hull (£14.2m) and Sheffield (£13.3m) councils.
Other councils that are facing losses include Bradford (£10.3m), Kirklees (£6.3m), Rotherham (£6m), Doncaster (£5m), Wakefield (£5m), and Barnsley (£4.5m).
There are some local authorities that could potentially see a total of £20m become available under the guidlines.
The three local authorities this affects are York City Council, North Yorkshire Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
There could potentially be tension for newly-elected Yorkshre Conservative MPs who took seats from labour under a promise to level up the North.
This will depend on how the government proceed with the funding of local authorities.
Shadow Communities Secretary, Andrew Gwynne, said: “In the new parliament, 37 Tory MPs represent communities at the sharp end of these cuts.
“They know these changes are wrong, so it’s time for them to decide: what comes first, their communities or their careers?”
But Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, said: “These figures are speculation and local councils shouldn’t pay any heed to them.”
A formal consultation is expected to be launched into the new funding formula in the spring.
But the research by the Labour group of the LGA which revealed the cash terms cuts, suggested the new method downgraded the impact of deprivation.
LGA and Government Statments
An LGA spokesperson said: “This analysis does not represent LGA policy, an LGA policy proposal or an LGA preference.
“It is an attempt to provide some information to councils that might help gauge the likely impact of the fair funding review on the relative distribution of adult social care funding.”
A Government spokesperson added: “Funding allocations for adult social care should be fair and based on the best available evidence.
“We will continue to progress the fair funding review through close collaboration and engagement with the local government sector, and aim to publish a consulation with indicative allocations in spring 2020.
“Councils should continue to use offical government data for their financial planning.”