HUNDREDS of people have backed calls for national government to give Dudley a fair share of funding for local services, as the borough loses out compared to more rural authorities.

96% of 700 people who responded to Dudley Council's budget consultation backed a 'fair deal for Dudley', which calls for national government to devise a fairer way to allocate money to the borough.

Dudley borough has seen a 29 per cent real terms drop in spending power since 2010, compared to Surrey which has seen just a 15% reduction.

The call was part of the Council's consultation with residents on budget proposals, which could see a rise in council tax to help fund adult social care services.

Council chiefs insist that even with the rise, which they say equates to less than £1 extra a week on most properties, will still see residents in the borough paying one of the lowest council tax rates in the country.

A joint letter signed by both the leaders of the council's two parties has also been sent to the government, stating a number of ways the government could make it fairer in the way it allocates money to Dudley, such as giving more consideration to allocating adequate funding to densely populated urban areas like Dudley and for the demographics of the area to be taken into account.

Councillor Qadar Zada, leader of the council, said: "I’m pleased that almost all those people who responded to the consultation agreed that there are significant issues that need to be addressed by government to give Dudley a fair deal when it comes to funding.

"The people of this borough deserve high quality services and recognise that we need the money to pay for them. This strengthens our cross-party calls for a fairer funding system for Dudley.”

The results of the consultation will now form part of a report to all members of the council before it is discussed in the council chamber on February 25.