MP welcomes extra £1.6 million grant for Herefordshire

North Herefordshire MP Bill Wiggin has welcomed the news that an extra £1 million in Rural Services Delivery Grant and £0.6 million for Adult Social Care will be provided to Herefordshire Council in the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Speaking after the Secretary of State announced the measures, Bill Wiggin MP said: “I am delighted that the representations I made and the meetings we have conducted with the Ministerial Team in the last few weeks have been useful, and that the special requirements of Herefordshire have been recognised.” Mr Wiggin has taken part in negotiations with the Secretary of State to push for increased funding for the County, and today the Secretary of State telephoned to inform Mr Wiggin that the people of North Herefordshire will benefit from his campaign.

Mr Wiggin added, “Herefordshire Council will receive an extra £1.6 million next year in the Local Government Finance Settlement, which is much needed and will help Herefordshire Council deliver rural services and Adult Social Care in our County. I have discussed with Ministers the difficulties faced by a rural local authority in providing services to all areas of our extremely rural and sparsely populated County, and they have listened and increased the amount of overall funding for the Rural Services Delivery Grant by £16 million across the whole of the UK. I am delighted that we in Herefordshire will receive £1 million of this extra funding. In addition, the Government has provided for £0.6 million extra for Herefordshire’s increased Adult Social Care needs.”

The Rural Services Delivery Grant is a pool of money which is provided to the most rural and sparsely populated local authorities in order to help face the challenges of delivering vital services to large, less well connected areas.

Mr Wiggin continued, “In the 2017 General Election, I campaigned on the promise to continue to fight for better rural services in Herefordshire, as well as to improve transport links, and so I am delighted that only 9 months after the Election, I have brought the Secretary of State for Transport to Herefordshire to discuss our transport priorities, and now my representations on rural services have resulted in an extra £1.6 million for Herefordshire in 2018/9.”