An independent body should be set up to allocate central government grant to councils, an influential county leader has claimed. Nick Skellett, Conservative leader of Surrey CC, believes that a grant distribution model, similar to that used in Australia, would eradicate ‘political interference' from the process and ensure a rational allocation of funds to services. In particular, Mr Skellett believes an independent body would boost social care spending, which is currently swallowing 90% of Surrey's annual increase in funding. Mr Skellett said: ‘I want an independent body set up to allocate resources to local government. ‘This would take the politics out of the funding process and ensure that finance is provided to local authorities strictly on an assessed needs-only basis. Then we could reduce the difficult and uncomfortable decisions we are constantly being forced to make.' Surrey is currently spending £332m – 52% of its £643m budget for 2007/08 – on social care, compared with an average for English councils of 45%.
