26 January 2011
Newham council has stood by its criticism of Communities Secretary Eric Pickles’ use of figures in the local government finance settlement, despite the statistics watchdog’s decision not to issue a reprimand.
Sir Robin Wales, mayor of the London Borough of Newham, referred Pickles and his department to the UK Statistics Authority last month. Wales accused the government of trying to mask the impact of spending cuts on the most deprived areas of the country by focusing on a new measure called ‘revenue spending power’ in the December finance settlement.
But UKSA chair Sir Michael Scholar rejected the complaint. Ina letter to Wales, dated January 24, he said his statisticians were ‘not concerned about the statistical issues raised’. Clear methodology and source data had been published to show how the calculations had been made, he added.
However, Scholar also wrote: ‘It is clear that ministers have made use of these statistics in order to argue their case, and to present their policies as persuasively as possible.’ But it would not be appropriate for the UKSA to intervene in political debates, he says.
Wales maintained that the Department for Communities and Local Government had used the statistics misleadingly. He told Public Finance: ‘Sir Michael’s response doesn’t challenge the fact that the DCLG selectively used statistics to disguise the impact of the most savage public spending cuts since the Second World War.’
He added: ‘The hypocrisy of Eric Pickles’ claim to “demystify the complex formula grant funding system”, when he announced the local government finance settlement using another measure, is truly staggering.
‘It’s clear to me and many other local authorities that Pickles used different figures from one day to the next to shift media attention away from the damaging cuts he is making in areas like Newham.
‘While we accept these cuts were coming, no-one expected the poorest boroughs to be hardest hit. Indeed, the coalition government’s arrogance has been exposed by yesterday’s troubling growth figures, which ought to make ministers think twice about their approach to slashing public spending at a time when the private sector remains ill-equipped to take up the slack.’
