Councils in south want more funds

A south east regional summit of social services directors and
councillors met this week to call for more cash. The move followed
a suggestion in a leaked government memo that after the General
Election a Labour government would consider changing funding
arrangements to benefit cities and the North.

Peter Gilroy, Kent social services director, said: “We want to
try and persuade the government to reflect on some of the issues
facing the South East. It is dire at the moment and we do not wish
it to be worsened by any funding reviews that are not thought
through.”

Representatives from Surrey, Buckinghamshire, West and East
Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, and Hertfordshire all attended the
meeting at Leeds Castle, Kent.