An “outdated” and “inequitable” method of funding county councils and the false perception they are affluent is holding back social mobility, according to a cross-party group of MPs.
The report by the County All-Party-Parliamentary Group (APPG) and County Councils Network (CCN) blames the current way of funding councils and growing financial strain on their budgets as helping to embed a cycle of low social mobility.
The report says that councils in London receive £482 per head, whilst metropolitan boroughs and cities receive £351 per head, compared to £182 per person for public services in county areas.
Peter Aldous MP, chairman of the County APPG, said: “For a long time now, the perception that counties are affluent and wealthy has meant they have been overlooked in terms of directing resource and policy towards improving social mobility.
“An outdated and inequitable method of funding local authorities has dis-proportionally channeled funding towards London and the major cities; holding back social mobility in county areas, and embedding a cycle of low life chances for residents. This is unfair.”
The report concluded that rural areas are among the least socially mobile, with Devon, Essex, Cumbria and Durham in the bottom ten.
Coastal communities such as Dorset, Cornwall and East Sussex are also in the bottom ten, according to the report.
