SERIOUS cuts to council funding have been confirmed - despite the Government claiming parts of Worcestershire have been handed a 'spending power' boost.

Leading politicians in the county have reacted bullishly after the final cash deals for 2015/16 were outlined by ministers.

Your Worcester News can reveal:

- The deal for Worcester City Council, known as the Formula Grant, will fall 15 per cent, from £5 million to £4.2 million, and in pounds and pence is £7,000 below the provisional sum

- The funding settlement to Worcestershire County Council will be £111 million, a cut of 14.1 per cent or nearly £17 million down on the current financial year, which matches the provisional sum

- Similar drops have been confirmed which are almost exactly the same for all other district councils in the county, although the Government says due to other funding pots and increased council tax through extra house building, the overall picture is not as bad

Councillor Adrian Hardman, county council leader, said: "The final figure matches what we've planned for, so it's not unexpected.

"If you look at the investment that's going on in the county, we feel optimistic."

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has produced its own 'spending power' chart which lumps the formula grant in alongside business rates and other funding streams like the New Homes Bonus and Better Care Fund managed alongside the NHS.

It says taking that into account, Worcester City Council will be just 4.3 per cent worse off, and claims the county council will actually be 0.9 per cent better off.

Cllr Hardman rejected the claim, saying: "The idea we have control over some of this extra funding (the Better Care Fund) is unrealistic."

He added: "Whilst the Better Care Fund allocated to the county council has increased from £9.4 million to £33.5 million, with a further £3.7 million for capital investment, services are currently commissioned from these budgets from within the NHS and this money does not represent new funding for us."

Councillor Peter McDonald, Labour group leader, said: "It's smoke and mirrors from the Government, Worcestershire is one of the poorest funded shires in the country, it's disgraceful."

Under the spending power chart, Wychavon will be 1.4 per cent up, while Malvern faces an overall drop of 1.8 per cent and likewise Wyre Forest is 3.6 per cent down.

Councillor Paul Middlebrough, Wychavon District Council leader, said: “Our funding is better largely because of the New Homes Bonus, because of all the development in the district.

“We look forward to the day where we are not reliant on a revenue support grant and are effectively self-sufficient, using other income streams and focusing on efficient services.”

It makes Worcester City Council the worst-hit district authority in the country, although the reductions were planned for months ago and will not result in extra cuts having to be made.

Councillor Chris Mitchell, Worcester's cabinet member for finance, said: "We'd anticipated it and actually planned for a drop of around 18 per cent, so it's not quite as bad as that.

"Although the drop in funding is not good news, it's in line with what we planned for."

Minister Kris Hopkins yesterday said the settlements for 2015-16 were "fair for all parts of the country".

He said the overall drop in council spending power is 1.8 per cent across the UK for 2015/16, which means even using just that calculation, Worcester and the Wyre Forest are badly hit when compared to the rest of the country.