Unitary mulling legal action over "vindictive" decision to end rural services delivery grant

The deputy leader of North Yorkshire Council has said the local authority is mulling legal action over the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's decision to rescind a rural services delivery grant worth millions to the council.

Speaking in an executive committee meeting on Tuesday (21 January), Cllr  Gareth Dadd described the decision by Secretary of State Angela Rayner as an "ideologically driven attack".

The Government removed the rural services delivery grant – which had been in place since 2013/14 – from the Local Government Settlement in November 2024.

Describing the decision, Cllr Dadd said: "With a stroke of a pen one evening, we lost £14.3m of rural services delivery grants.

"This was allocated to rural authorities some years ago ahead of a fairer funding review in recognition of the higher drivers of service cost in rural areas.

"That fairer funding review never transpired.

"I dub this Rayner's rural robbery. There is no other explanation for it."

The council said it could be £6m worse off per year as a result of losing the grant.

Cllr Dadd later added: "We as an administration are considering legal options, judicial review and the likes.

"I believe we have a duty to protect our position against this politically motivated, ideologically driven attack upon our residents."

"One could be forgiven for thinking their motives are verging on vindictive."

Responding to the criticism, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We are injecting £69 billion of funding into council budgets across England to help them drive forward the government's Plan for Change, including a £23 million increase for North Yorkshire Council.

"We know that councils have suffered from short-term solutions, which is why we are working hand in hand with councils to reform this outdated system and fix the foundations."

Adam Carey