East Surrey MP, Sam Gyimah, has written to the Department for Communities and Local Government to strongly urge them to review the funding allocation for Surrey in advance of the forthcoming Local Government Finance Review. In a joint letter signed by all backbench Surrey MPs, Mr Gyimah and his colleagues highlighted the current situation - where Surrey contributes around £5,000 more per resident than it receives back in public spending - and made the case for a fairer deal.

Although fully aware of the tough economic environment in which the review takes place, Mr Gyimah is determined to keep pressing for a fairer deal:

"This was a campaign pledge for me: people work incredibly hard in East Surrey and pay their taxes - the least they deserve is to be treated fairly when it comes to central government funding for the Council. Surrey currently gets the lowest level of funding per person in the country, and this has severe implications for the level of service they are able to provide for those who live here".

The MPs included in their submission detailed analysis provided by Surrey County Council, which highlighted the following issues:

· Surrey County Council is having to make tough choices between the funding of essential capital schemes, like school places, spending on highways maintenance and the provision of social care facilities in a way that does not apply to most other councils.

· The current funding approach does not recognise small localised pockets of deprivation and account for them. The deprivation is just as real as in other parts of the country but is lost when averaged out across the whole country.

· The funding system is open to ministerial discretion and judgement, but has been complex and obscure for a long time now. It is almost impossible to explain why one authority receives a higher grant increase than another.

Mr Gyimah said: "Think about it this way: if Surrey had been given funding even at the average per head for a shire County Council, they would've had an extra £93m to spend in 2010/11 on public services. The Council do a great job on a shoestring budget, but we must make sure that they have the resources they need to continue to provide the services that we in East Surrey deserve - for families, the elderly, and vulnerable people in our community. This is a cause I'm determined to fight for".