Local government minister Rishi Sunak has defended the government’s proposals to remove deprivation as a factor in deciding councils’ foundation formula.
The proposals have been met with dismay across the sector, with the Institute for Fiscal studies saying in February that the proposal to base the foundation formula on population alone “is weak”.
Speaking in a Parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall, Sunak said: “Deprivation is in the formula and in all the areas where it makes a significant difference.
“Deprivation has little to do with the cost of maintaining a road or a flood defence, for example, and therefore it is not factored into those areas.
“Of course, it is factored into all the areas that we heard about, including adult social care and children’s social care.”
The minister added that his department is working in conjunction with other departments “to develop formulas that they are happy with”.
