South Hams faces ‘unfair’ funding blow after latest government settlement

The government has been accused of turning its back on rural communities in the run-up to local government reorganisation.

Areas like the South Hams have been left out in the cold by the government’s latest funding packages, leaving them with no choice but to raise council tax by as much as they can.

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Now local councillors say the government’s latest financial settlement has deliberately targeted them.

Cllr Simon Rake (Lib Dem, Blackawton and Stoke Fleming) told a full council meeting: “It would be hard to think of a financial settlement that could have been worse for the South Hams.

“It feels as if the government is specifically targeting us. We are one of the councils that received the lowest and worst financial settlements in the country.”

He said allowances for rurality, coastal protection, flood management and tourism had all been stripped away.

The district will get a ‘fair funding allocation’ for 2026/27 of £5.5 million, giving it ‘core spending power’ of £15.3 million. This has left it with a ‘budget gap’ of £2.5 million between its expected spending and its available income.

It will have to put up its share of local council tax bills by the maximum allowed 2.99 per cent.

Cllr Lee Bonham (Lib Dem, Loddiswell and Aveton Gifford) said the funding settlement was ‘unfair’ and an attack on rural councils, and Cllr Nicky Hopwood (Con, Woolwell) said it offered no help to the vital farming industry.

Council leader Dan Thomas (Lib Dem, Newton and Yealmpton) said it showed the direction of local government reorganisation, in which district councils like South Hams will be wiped out and replaced by larger unitary authorities.

“What this says is that if you’re a shire district, goodbye,” he said. “The plan is that we shouldn’t exist by 2028.

“We are doing everything we can, and lobbying is constantly happening. You can knock on a door as many times as you like, but if the person on the other side isn’t listening or doesn’t want to open it, it really doesn’t matter how many times you knock.”

Cllr Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham), who is also the leader of Devon County Council, said the government was shifting the burden of paying for vital services from central taxation to local council tax.

“Those who are the most vulnerable and struggle the most in the cost-of-living crisis will be the most penalised,” he said. 

“But we don’t have any choice. The government expects vital services to be delivered by local taxation, and it’s a sorry state of affairs.”

Councillors paid tribute to their officers’ hard work in producing a balanced budget which showed resilience and included some of what Cllr Thomas called ‘reasons to be cheerful’."