Peterborough City Council will see the amount available to spend on local services rise by £76m by 2028/29 when compared with 2025/26. This represents an increase of 31 per cent in Core Spending Power, which includes Government funding alongside income from Council Tax and Business Rates.
The uplift follows the Government’s Fairer Funding settlement, which revises how funding is distributed to councils across England and Wales. The changes are intended to direct more support to areas experiencing higher levels of deprivation and greater demand for public services. Under the Government Fairer Funding for Peterborough, the council expects a more stable and predictable financial position.
Councillor Shabina Qayyum, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “This is a hugely important moment for Peterborough and the most exciting Christmas present we could ever have hoped for.
“I would like to thank our MPs for their support in banging the drum loudly for fairer funding for local authorities. For years we have called for further funding to help us pay for the increased demand on our services compared to other areas – we have finally been listened to.”
She said the authority had worked to stabilise its finances after extended reductions in funding, but that a fairer allocation was necessary to secure the city’s future. The Government Fairer Funding for Peterborough settlement provides an increase in funding over the next three years, allowing the council to plan ahead.
“This settlement gives us the certainty we need to plan ahead – with our funding increasing over the next three years – helping us to protect vital services, improve our financial health and invest in the things that matter most to residents,” she said.
The announcement also marks the first multi-year funding settlement for councils in a decade. It is intended to simplify numerous funding streams and focus resources on areas with the highest levels of need, giving local authorities greater stability to plan, invest and deliver services.
Councillor Qayyum said the settlement builds on other recent commitments to the city. “This announcement follows the huge amounts of additional funding committed to Peterborough by the Government in the past year, including the £40 million Pride in Place funding, £1.3 million to continue running our successful Family Hubs programme and most recently £20 million committed for the delivery of a new city centre swimming pool by the UK Government’s Growth Mission Fund.”
