'LORELY BURT CHALLENGES PRIME MINSISTER TO GET A GRIP ON LOCAL AUTHORITY FUNDING'

2.07.39pm GMT Wed 7th Feb 2007

Solihull MP Lorely Burt has taken her campaign for a fairer deal for Solihull directly to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mrs Burt challenged Tony Blair during Prime Minister's Questions to "get a grip" on the unfair allocation of local authority funding "as part of his legacy."

She explained that for each 42p of Local Authority grant that an individual in Solihull receives, in next door Birmingham a person would receive £1, despite the fact that Solihull has four of the poorest wards in the country.

She challenged the Prime Minister:

"does he think that a lonely pensioner or a sick child is less deserving in a leafy suburb than in a former Labour heartland."

Tony Blair replied that despite "pockets of deprivation" they aimed for a balanced outcome for local government formula funding.

Prime minister's Questions

7th February 2007

Lorely Burt (LD, Solihull)

Will the Prime Minister as part of his legacy, get a grip on unfair funding of local government?

Is he aware that Solihull residents get only 42p a head from central Government for every pound paid to their neighbors in Birmingham, yet Solihull has 4 of the most deprived wards in Britain?

Is a lonely pensioner or a sick child less deserving in a leafy area than in Labour's former heartlands?