THE leader of Hartlepool Borough Council is seeking a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss expected cuts to the Government's grant to the council.

Cllr Christopher Akers-Belcher has written to David Cameron ahead of Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement on Wednesday (November 25).

In the letter the council leader said: "I note that you have recently agreed to meet the leader of Oxfordshire County Council to discuss their budget pressures and I look forward as leader of Hartlepool Borough Council to be afforded the same opportunity.

“To put this in perspective, over the last five years Hartlepool council has seen its main Government grant reduced by almost 40 per cent. This equates to a cut in spending power per Hartlepool resident of £313, which is more than twice the national average cut of £131 per resident.

"To me this does not feel fair and equitable, especially as the affluent Windsor and Maidenhead area has seen its spending power reduce by just £14 per resident. "

The letter goes on to say that Hartlepool’s situation has recently been compounded following the appeal by Hartlepool Power Station to the Valuation Office Agency against its 2010 Rateable Value which has resulted in the amount of business rates it pays to the council reducing by 48 per cent.

The Government has consistently argued that the national deficit has to be dealt with. A package of funding has been offered as part of a devolution plan for the region which amount to £900 million for a North-East authority including most of Durham and Tyne and Wear and £450 million for the Tees Valley area.