Local government minister, John Healey, this week warned councils there would be no new cash from Whitehall to cover the rising cost of equal pay claims. Mr Healey told The MJ that equal pay liabilities remained firmly the responsibility of local authorities, despite recent court rulings which could see the cost of settling equal pay claims soar from ￡1.5bn toj￡2.5bn. However, the minister reassured councils he would help them free up cash to cover their equal pay commitments. 'Despite the court rulings, the main position hasn't changed. Equal pay is something for local government to manage. But central government is ready to support councils and provide the financial flexibility to allow them to discharge their responsibilities. 'I am currently assessing applications for another round of capitalisation allowances to help authorities settle what are very big, but long-standing, pay inequalities,' he said. Last autumn, Mr Healey provided 46 authorities with capitalisation allowances enabling them to borrow or use capital receipts up to ￡500m to cover equal pay liabilities.
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