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The
Council voted (unanimous) on the motion by Councillor Helene
Leeming, which was carried as follows:
 
“Council notes:

Cambridgeshire, and in particular South Cambridgeshire, has seen
rapid population growth over recent years. This has resulted in
greater demand on services that are important to our residents such
as policing, fire and rescue, education, healthcare and
more.
Government has been working on plans to accelerate this growth,
most recently proposing that a Development Corporation be
established.
Cambridgeshire’s population is expected to grow to
1,078,000 by 2041.
Government funding for many of these key services in
Cambridgeshire significantly lags behind other areas.

 
Council
notes, as an example, Cambridgeshire Police:

Cambridgeshire Police is the 4th worst funded police force in
the country on a per person basis. Were the force to receive the
average national funding per person in 2025/26., it would have an
additional £28 million a year in funding.
To
maintain existing policing levels as the population increases,
Cambridgeshire Police will need to recruit an additional 17
officers per year between now and 2041.
The
formula used to determine funding for police forces is still based
on 2011 Census data, despite it now being 2026.

 
Council
notes, as a further example, education funding:

The
f40 fairer funding campaign, which provides comparative historical
data, has exposed huge variations in funding allocations per pupil
by local authority.
For
funding per pupil, Cambridgeshire remains in the bottom quartile
nationally for the dedicated schools grant and for the high needs
block funding per pupil. In 2025/26, Cambridgeshire ranked 133rd
out of 151 local authorities.
If
Cambridgeshire received equivalent funding per pupil to
Lincolnshire, near the national median, we would receive an
additional £23.8 million a year. If Cambridgeshire received
equivalent funding per pupil to Peterborough, it would receive an
additional £33 million a year.

 
Council
believes:

The
failure of Government to adequately fund key services across
Cambridgeshire, especially in light of their ambitions for growth
in our area, is unacceptable, has negatively impacted our residents
and cannot continue.

 
Council
resolves:
·      
To request that the Leader write to the Home
Secretary, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and
Local Government and other relevant ministers expressing our
frustration at the Government’s chronic underfunding of key
services in our county and imploring ministers to review how
funding for these services is allocated, recognising the scale of
growth across the Greater Cambridge area.”