Rural Fair Funding Campaign

The Local Government Finance Settlement sets out how the Government will allocate resources to Local Authorities.

The formula is very complex and takes into account varying factors and weightings to result in the local authority allocation.

The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-2027 has been consulted on and we are awaiting the Final Settlement from Government.

It is available at this link.

The RSN responded to the consultation following extensive consultation with our Sparse member Local Authorities.

Our current analysis of the provisional settlement shows the following:

Why is this important?

The Government has changed the Local Government Funding Formula following Fair Funding 2.0 consultation carried out in 2025.

As a result of the way that rural councils have been funded by successive governments, they have received less funding compared to urban areas for decades.  

This can impact the councils ability to deliver services to their residents, particularly discretionary services such as public toilets, public transport and parks and leisure facilities.

We appreciate that we are in difficult financial times however in these times it is even more important that funds are allocated fairly.

RSN Campaigning on Fair Funding

• We wrote to the Minister following the Local Government Finance Policy Statement in November 2025 - You can read more at this link
• We met with our Sparse Member Authorities Finance Officers and Leaders early in January to discuss the outcome of the Provisional Settlement and contribute to our consultation response
• We discussed the issue of Rural Fair Funding with a cross party group of Parliamentarians at the APPG for Rural Services at their AGM in January
• We submitted our response to the consultation January 2026
• We wrote to the Minister with additional questions to clarify some of our concerns - You can read more at this link
• We have been echoing the concerns of our member authorities that they have raised in their own press locally and nationally.
• We have contributed to BBC Politics Interviews on rural fair funding, and been interviewed by Finance trade press ROOM 151 on the issue:
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002qm85/politics-south-25012026 
  • https://www.room151.co.uk/funding/rural-areas-count-the-cost-of-funding-overhaul/ 

Delivering for All - A Roadmap for rural prosperity

Every person, in every place, deserves the chance to thrive — including those living in rural, coastal and small-town communities.

Adding to the challenge of underfunding, council services cost more to deliver in rural areas, where residents are spread across wide areas but still depend on vital services. Communities in these areas deserve their fair share of funding to ensure they remain functional and sustainable—especially in the face of the cost of living crisis, which hits them hardest.

What does the RSN want Government to do?

• Create Public funding formulae which ensure the unique service needs, delivery constraints and the whole range of extra costs of delivering services in rural areas (and not just travel costs) are properly reflected.
• Ensure funding for the Social Care Reform proposals uses a formula which recognises the whole range of costs faced by rural councils and care providers. This includes financially addressing the current backlog in assessments etc.
• The Government should monitor the impact of funding formulae on all areas across the country, including those in rural and urban areas to ensure that residents in our market towns and villages are not paying more for their services compared to those in more urban areas.
• Protect rural council taxpayers by fairly funding public services to ensure they are not asked to pay more to fund local services than their urban counterparts.
• Public sector bodies should have the resources they require to meet the needs of their community and deliver services effectively. Residents should not be disadvantaged due to living in a more rural community.