DARLINGTON Borough Council has been told it will get even less money from the Government than expected - while councils in the south get an unexpected windfall.

Council officers say the final local government settlements announced on Tuesday mean that the town will receive £2,000 less each year than predicted.

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Last week, the council announced a massive budget cuts programme based on its provisional settlement, including the closures of libraries, the sale of the historic covered market and the end of services which help the old, the young and the vulnerable.

The new figure should not mean additional cuts, however Darlington Borough Council leader Bill Dixon hit out at ministers for finding "magic money" for councils in the south of the country.

He said: “On Tuesday the government suddenly found £150 million pounds, apparently down the back of a sofa to help hard pressed councils.

"Virtually all of this magic money will go to councils in the affluent south and nothing for us in the north.

"While Darlington loses another £2,000 a year, over the same three years Wokingham gets an extra £2.109 million in 2016, £2.104 million in 2017 and £3.3 million in 2018.”

According to the Government the final settlement means Darlington will have a 0.6 per cent core spending power increase from 2015/16 to 2019/20, however Darlington officials claimed on Tuesday that this figure was inaccurate and based on flawed assumptions.

They said Darlington would actually have a core spending power decrease.

A council spokesperson said: “In the final government settlement Darlington will receive £2,000 less per year than predicted, a total of £8,000 up to 2020.

"This shouldn’t have a significant impact as the figure is relatively small in comparison to the budget overall.”

Announcing the final settlement, Communities Secretary Greg Clark claimed the deal meant every council would have at least the resources allocated by the provisional settlement.

He added: "In addition, we will provide transitional funding for the first 2 years of the Spending Review period for councils as they move from dependence on central government grants to greater financial autonomy.

"The government will continue to keep bills down with council tax still expected to be lower in real terms in 2019 to 2020 than it was in 2009 to 2010."