23rd April 2024
Maldon District Council lobbies government to spend levelling up funding on access to health services
The Government’s Spring budget allocated £5 million of funding for culture projects to the remaining Levelling Up areas that were yet to receive any funding. Maldon District Council is one of the Priority 1 areas without funding to date. To receive the £5 million, Maldon District Council is expected to submit an investment plan setting out how it will spend the funding on culture projects. However, the Council has spoken up and asked MPs for support, highlighting that access to health services is where the money is needed most.
Maldon District Council Leader, Cllr Richard Siddall, said: “Levelling Up funding from government must be spent where it is most needed. The Council welcomes the opportunity to submit an investment plan setting out how it can spend funding on culture projects, however, access to health services is where funding is needed, and the lack of infrastructure in the district and access to services, is the basis for why we are a Priority 1 area.
“The £5 million for the Maldon district, announced by government in the spring budget, could provide a much-needed opportunity to unlock a new conversation with the NHS, Essex County Council and Essex Highways and from that the much-needed infrastructure.
“Our local MPs, Dame Priti Patel, Sir John Whittingdale, and I have written to ministers setting out the health crisis in the district. We await a decision from the Under Secretary for Levelling Up, Jacob Young and we will continue to state our case for funding.
“It is important to recognise that we cannot turn this funding away. If the government states that the funding must be spent on culture, then we will refocus our efforts to submit an investment plan that sets out how the funding can be spent to achieve the culture opportunities in the district.”