FOR too long Cornwall has missed out due to the unfair and outdated system for allocating money to local councils. Council Taxpayers have seen their bills increase, while watching services decline year after year.

Fourteen years of Tory strain on Council finances left behind a system where rural and coastal areas, particularly those suffering from a “peninsula penalty” like Cornwall were neglected and not given sufficient funding settlements to meet their unique needs.

Under our Labour Government, this is finally changing. In recent weeks, the government completed its Fair Funding Review, which aims to address the disparity from the previous approach.

Crucially, resource will now be allocated according to need, giving our local authorities the funding necessary to deliver vital services despite the pressures exerted by our visitor economy and an ageing population. The new system will also reflect the increased costs that rural communities often face as a result of their services needing to be delivered to sparsely populated areas. Similarly, last week’s announcement of the review of the Carr-Hill formula by Secretary of State Wes Streeting was massively welcome, ensuring that areas with higher levels of illness will receive greater amounts of health funding.

With a population that grows massively every summer during tourist season, Cornwall will benefit, for the first time, from the new model of factoring in seasonal demand from visitors. While tourism is a vital part of our economy, and welcoming visitors to the duchy can be a joy, we all know the pressures that a massively increased population during the summer can have on infrastructure and services.

I also welcome the move to bring back multi-year settlements for the first time in a decade, giving councils the certainty and stability of knowing what their funding will be over a longer period. This allows local authorities to make much clearer spending plans, instead of having to go through the current competitive bidding process of applying for 300 separate grants.

There are also benefits for taxpayers, with the administration of council tax being modernised. Bills will be paid over 12 months by default, instead of the current 10 months.

This review won’t be a silver bullet, of course. Local government still faces huge pressures and it will take time to put this right, and Cornwall’s four Labour MPs must continue to work together for every penny of new investment we deserve in transport, social housing and industry but this is a promising step that will lay the foundations for significant improvements.

I recently held a Tourism Summit in Newquay, to speak to local business leaders about the challenges facing the town and its economy. This was a great opportunity to hear from some of those most invested in the local economy and improving the state of our town, to voice their concerns and discuss an action plan for the future, which I will work to implement in the months and years ahead.

I look forward to seeing Cornwall reaping the benefits of the new fairer funding system, and, most importantly, one that reflects our unique challenges.