Michael Gove slammed by Wirral MPs amid claims government's cuts have "decimated" services in the borough

Mr Gove met all four Wirral MPs yesterday to discuss the £20m worth of cuts Wirral Council has been forced to make this year.

The council passed a budget which withdrew funding from Woodchurch Leisure Centre, nine libraries, two public golf courses and more on February 28.

Mr Gove, the government's Secretary for levelling up, housing and communities, was told the cuts will "devastate the life chances" of Wirral residents and hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. They thought the government should accept responsibility for a "crisis of its own making", adding that since 2010, the council has lost more than £220m in direct government grants.

Wallasey MP Angela Eagle said: "[Despite] the decimation of services, increased charges for the use of what local facilities remain, and a mass sell-off of local authority buildings, residents in Wallasey will continue being asked to pay more [in Council Tax] for lower levels of services."

Mick Whitley, MP for Birkenhead, a constituency which has been awarded £144m from various government sources for a major regeneration plan, said: "After four painful decades of our town being ignored by Westminster, we're finally getting some of the investment we've long deserved. But what's the point in having a brand new town centre if my constituents can't afford to enjoy it?

"Tax hikes and cuts to frontline services are making every day a struggle for my constituents. It's time the government stopped giving with one hand and taking away with the other."

In a joint statement, the four Labour MPs said: "Huge cuts by central government to the funding of public services threaten the quality of life of many in the borough at the very same time that we are facing a cost of living crisis and risk stifling the economic recovery that we all want to see."

They want the government's upcoming Fair Funding Review to ensure any new long-term funding settlement takes into account the particular challenges facing Wirral – including an ageing population and high levels of deprivation.

Speaking in a House of Commons debate last month, Conservative MP Neil O'Brien, under-secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, said: "The local government finance settlement for the next year makes an additional £3.7bn available to councils in England, that includes funding for adult social care reform.

"This is an increase in local authority funding of more than 4.5% in real terms compared with the previous year, and we expect core spending power— the measure of resources available to local authorities to fund service delivery— to rise from £50.4bn in 2021-22 to £54.1bn in 2022-23, which I am just about to come to."

Mr O'Brien added: "I emphasise that the government are providing around £1.6bn in additional grant [funding] in the next year through the settlement, and through Toggle showing location of funding for things such as the supporting families programme and cyber-resilience.

"What that means for Merseyside is that core spending power will increase for all authorities in the region by at least 7.7%, compared with last year."

Mr Gove's department were contacted directly for a response to the MPs' comments.