RSN Presses Government On Rural Funding

The Rural Services Network has written directly to Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness, setting out our concerns about the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026/27. This follows the submission of RSN’s full consultation response on the settlement last week, responding in detail to the Government’s proposed funding reforms.

In both our letter and consultation response, RSN highlights the implications of the settlement for councils serving rural communities, including the treatment of remoteness and sparsity, the continued use of outdated data within parts of the system, and the growing reliance on council tax to fund core services in rural areas. While the consultation response sets out this evidence in full, our letter to the Minister draws attention to a number of urgent questions and requests greater transparency ahead of the final settlement.

These submissions build on the analysis RSN has shared with members throughout the settlement process and reflect concerns raised consistently by rural local authorities about the sustainability of funding arrangements and the ability to meet rising service demands.

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive of the Rural Services Network: As the only national body focused specifically on rural service delivery in England, the RSN exists to ensure that the real-world impact of national policy decisions on rural services is understood by Government and Parliament. Through our direct engagement with Ministers, consultation responses, and ongoing work as Secretariat to the APPG for Rural Services, we continue to bring together local authority evidence and frontline experience to keep rural services firmly on the policy agenda. We will continue to update members as the settlement process moves towards final decisions.