Sir Edward Leigh, the veteran Member of Parliament for the Gainsborough constituency, has taken part in a meeting with other Lincolnshire MPs and the Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, about the important issue of getting a fairer funding deal from central government for local government in Lincolnshire.

Sir Edward has joined fellow parliamentarians and local councils across Lincolnshire is seeking a fairer funding deal from central government for the county. Currently Lincolnshire County Council estimates that the county would benefit from £116 million of extra funding if Lincolnshire received the national average for council areas in England.

Sir Edward was joined by Matt Warman MP (Boston & Skegness), Victoria Atkins (Louth & Horncastle) and Dr. Caroline Johnson (Sleaford & North Hykeham) at a meeting with the minister on Wednesday, 11th October 2017. Sir Edward Leigh said:

“Lincolnshire’s Conservative Members of Parliament are working as a team to make sure that this issue is on the radar of ministers. Next week I look forward to joining my colleagues and welcoming Cllr. Martin Hill, the Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, to a meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss this issue.

“A fairer funding deal for Lincolnshire could help with providing key transport infrastructure improvements or fibre broadband to all the county’s businesses. The sort of money we are missing out on would equate to building a new hospital or a by-pass scheme – each year.

“Fundamentally this is an issue of fairness. It is surely unfair for other shire areas to, on average, receive an extra £57m a year – whilst in metropolitan areas that figure rises to £87m a year and in London it’s £141m a year.

“Lincolnshire needs to fight now to make sure our voice is heard. So local people and parish councils should add their voices to our district councils and county council to make soure we get the best possible deal for Lincolnshire.”