AN ONLINE petition has been launched with Somerset County Council stepping up its fight for fairer funding for the county from the Government.

It follows cross-party support for fairer funding for Somerset at a meeting of County Hall’s full council last month.

All members supported a proposal to call on Government to reassess the “spending power” formula it uses to allocate funding to local authorities.

The petition can be found at somer set.gov.uk/fairerfunding and asks the Government to recognise the underfunding of rural councils like Somerset and review the way it allocates money.

Council leader Cllr John Osman said: “I am delighted all councillors have welcomed the need for fairer funding for Somerset. The most recent budget setting process has included some truly difficult decisions to reflect the continued reduction in Government funding.

“In Somerset we are short-changed compared to other, more urban, authorities, despite the rising cost of providing services in a mostly rural county.

“As well as a massive reduction in funding year-on-year, we have also been penalised by government for being a rural county in a process known as ‘damping’ where some of our allocation of funding has been used to help urban councils. Our residents, communities and businesses deserve access to the same services that are available in other areas of the country but Somerset taxpayer’s money is effectively being sent elsewhere.”

February’s full council meeting approved £16m worth of savings for 2015-16. This comes after a stark £20m drop in income from the Government for 2015-16 in the face of significant pressure on Somerset’s key services.

Cllr Osman added: “Whatever your politics, if you care about the future funding for public services in Somerset, I urge you to sign this petition.”