LAST week the government announced the details of local council funding over the next three years - and a major boost in spending for services in Dudley.

Councils in England will receive an £8.97bn boost in funding over the next three years, including £2.7bn next year (2008/09).

And Dudley Council is a big winner with spending up by £5.8 million next year. That means government support for services in Dudley will increase by 5.2% next year - way above inflation.

Spending will increase by 3.5% the year after, and 3% the year after that.

Put another way, next year's inflation-busting 5.2% boost is way above the national average of 4% and it's the second highest increase in the region. The increase for the year after is also the second highest in the West Midlands and the increase for 2010/11 is the highest.

We all want as much support from central government for local services as possible and I and the borough's other MPs will continue our non-stop campaign for more resources for Dudley, but it would be churlish not to recognise that these are big increases.

Nationally the confirm 13 years of inflation busting increases in grant. By 2011 funding will be 45% more in real terms than in 1997. What a contrast with the 7% real terms cut local councils had to contend with in the previous 4 years to 1997.

These increases mean there continues to be no excuse for excessive council tax increases.

And this year we've announced spending settlements for three years for the first time and radically cut down the performance framework so councils now have greater flexibility to budget and plan ahead, and make their own decisions about spending priorities.