Helen raises dire state of county finances in Commons chamber

Helen Morgan has raised the dire state of finances at Shropshire Council in the chamber of the House of Commons.

This comes as Shropshire Council approaches bankruptcy, with a savings target of £1 million every week and £4,000 a day spent on consultants hired to undertake a ‘transformation’ programme of cuts. The local authority has faced harsh criticism from Liberal Democrat councillors over mismanagement of the county finances through purchases like the shopping centres in Shrewsbury.

Helen Morgan MP raised this in the Commons, and called on the Secretary of State for Levelling Up to back a fairer funding model for rural councils which recognises the higher costs of running services in the countryside.

Helen said, “Shropshire Council is in a dire financial state, with bankruptcy looming.

“There are serious questions to be answered from the cabinet and county leadership about how we have ended up in such a weak position, with so little left in our reserves and so many examples of wasteful spending.

“I called on the Secretary of State to take funding for rural councils seriously and recognise that providing services in the countryside can create added costs and difficulties. Just as poor council decisions have contributed to the precarious position we are in, poor government funding holds back rural counties like ours.”