OLDHAM West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has accused the government of being "callous" during a debate on local government.

This follows Labour Party analysis claiming changes in funding have benefited some of the most affluent areas of the country whilst funding for Oldham Council per household has fallen by by 27 per cent.

Funding cuts under the Conservatives have hit the most deprived areas of the country particularly hard, says Mr McMahon.

Nine of the 10 most deprived councils in the country have seen cuts of almost three times the national average of £255, per head.

On average, local authorities’ spending power per household is on course to fall by 23 per cent (£243) between 2010 and 2011 and 2019 to 2020.

The analysis has also found that Labour councils are set to see a fall of 28 per cent on average, compared to a 19 per cent fall for Tory councils.

This means that while Tory councils will see an average fall in spending power per household of £115 the equivalent cut for Labour councils is more than £500 per household – more than four times higher than Tory areas.

Councils would normally have started their budget-setting planning process but Mr Mcmahon says the lack of government leadership means that they remain completely in the dark about how much funding they will have next year. He said the Conservative leadership contest has made this situation worse, raising questions over previous plans to implement a Fair Funding Review and to increase the percentage of business rates retained locally from April 2020.

Mr McMahon continued: “The Tories approach of targeting places like Oldham for cuts is callous and calculated.

“Instead of playing politics, this Government should be properly funding the local services that people need and rely on.

“This Conservative government won’t stand up for working people, and ordinary families are paying the price.

"It is time for a Labour government that will deliver sustainable funding for our councils and act in the interests of the many, not the few.”