Securing better funding for Rutland 'not an easy fix', says Council Leader
Oliver Hemsley responded to claims that Alicia Kearns MP was in talks over more investment
Rutland's Council Leader says securing more funding for Rutland won't be easy, after claims that Alicia Kearns MP will engage in talks to discuss more investment.
Oliver Hemsley previously stated that the Government was 'ignoring' Rutland, where high council has become an ongoing issue.
'I'm glad that Alicia is working to try and address this but it is not something that I believe is going to be a simple fix, there is a need for an overhaul for how funding is done because we're not the only rural county that is suffering', he said.
'For Rutland, it has meant that we have the highest council tax in the country, and this is not sustainable, and it is actually creating long term impacts on the dynamics of Rutland, and I cannot stand by that.'
'There are certainly people in Rutland who are affluent but there is also pockets of deprivation. The unfair council tax continues to exacerbate the problem and ensures that we will become an elitist community without enabling the younger generation to be able to live in Rutland.'
Plans in place?
After the polls closed on Rutland County Council's one by-election, leader Oliver Hemsley announced he would leave the Conservative party and stay on as an independent.
He stated that the Government weren't listening to concerns over council tax and unequal funding for the county.
In a recent visit to Harington School and Catmose College, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi claimed that Rutland and Melton's MP Alicia Kearns had plans in place to combat the issue:
'Alicia Kearns is meeting with secretary of state, and department for communities and local Government to talk about funding for Rutland and that's important.'
'I know that she will be a great champion to make sure that Rutland gets its fair share of funding whether it's through our levelling up white paper, or of course through my own work, on my school's white paper.'