The leaked letter from LGA chairman Lord Bruce-Lockhart to home secretary, John Reid, on the subject of immigration, has opened a Pandora’s box. The letter made the front page of many national newspapers last week, with headlines proclaiming that council tax would have to soar to help fund education and housing for immigrant families. In his letter, Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: ‘Local authorities, such as Slough, have predicted a 6% surcharge a year for the next five years, on top of existing inflation council tax increases. ‘Councils are finding it difficult to provide services to growing populations that are not recognised by government statistics.’ But LGA Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Richard Kemp, distanced himself from Lord Bruce-Lockhart’s controversial correspondence. ‘This letter is one to which Liberal Democrats could never subscribe, and we were shocked to learn of its contents through the media rather than through the normal channels,’ he says. ‘We do not know how it made its way into the press, and will be raising this at the highest levels in the organisation. ‘To state that everyone will face a 6% council tax rise is both shallow and shoddy. The challenges and opportunities deserve far more than just ill-conceived and over-hasty missives to the Government.’ Says Cllr Sir Jeremy Beecham, the LGA’s Labour group leader: ‘There is an issue here, but we have to be careful about how we approach it. The tabloids have been quick to dramatise the situation. ‘This is part of a wider issue, which is the robustness of the data used to calculate the grant distribution.’ At a seminar organised by Slough Council last month, a group of more than 25 local authorities called on the Government to make more funding available to cope with growing populations caused by increased migration. The town has had a sizeable migrant community since the 1950s. A large industrial base and its proximity to London’s Heathrow Airport have meant there were always plenty of jobs, which have attracted people to the area. The boom in population figures has already put a strain on local resources, with two primary schools taking in 60 Somalian and 50 Polish children, respectively, in one term. Speaking at last month’s conference, Slough’s strategic director of finance and property, Andrew Blake-Herbert, said: ‘We welcome the work being undertaken by the Office for National Statistics to improve how migration is measured, and will continue to work with its staff to that end. ‘However, the reality is that councils such as Slough cannot wait for statistical improvements to catch up with what’s happening on the ground. ‘We are asking for the Government to provide resources now to bridge the funding gap, until measurement techniques catch up.’ Chairman of the Statistics Commission, Professor David Rhind, said: ‘It is clear to us that this is not a problem which can simply be left at the door of the Office for National Statistics. ‘The answer is much more likely to come from the effective exploration of administrative systems across government departments.’ A DCLG spokesman said local government grants were based on ONS statistics. ‘And these are the best available,’ he added. With Sir Michael Lyons expected to give his verdict on local government finance at the end of the year, we can expect to see more councils raise the issue of how they are expected to provide more services without the resources. Councils and civil servants will need to keep a cool head and get to grips with the more complex issue of statistics and local government funding if they are to deal with this emotive issue. n
