RECOVERY GRANT
 
What Did They Say, Councillor?

The Recovery Grant allocates funding to local authorities with a greater share of ‘need’ than share of ‘resource’ where: • ‘Need’ is based on deprivation and population • ‘Resource’ is based on council tax base. 

GOV. UK.

Open Communcation to Cllr ​Tony Dicicco

Cllr DiCicco,

You described the government’s approach to recovery funding as “a disgrace,” and suggested Solihull had “lost out.”
But the word at the centre of this — Recovery — deserves closer attention.

Recovery from what?

The policy is explicit. Recovery funding is directed towards councils:

• facing higher levels of deprivation and demand, and
• with less ability to raise income locally.
• 
  

It exists to help areas recover from structural disadvantage — from years of underfunding relative to need.
That is what “Recovery” means in this context.

It does not mean recovery from locally chosen policy.

Solihull is not a council without options. It has a strong tax base. It has had the ability to raise income. And for a period of time, it chose not to — through a council tax freeze.

That decision may have been politically attractive at the time.

But it has consequences.
The current funding system recognises capacity as well as need. It directs support to councils that cannot raise sufficient income, not those that decided not to.

So when you say Solihull has “lost out,” the question is unavoidable:

Lost out — or simply not the intended recipient?

Because if a council chooses not to use the tools available to it, it cannot reasonably expect to be treated as if it never had them.
Recovery funding is not a general top-up.

It is not a reward.

And it is certainly not there to offset decisions made locally.

If Solihull now faces financial pressure, then the only honest starting point is this:

What exactly is it recovering from — and who made those decisions?

Yours sincerely,
 

Rob de Silhill

 

Rob de Silhill
[email protected]