HALESOWEN and Rowley Regis MP James Morris has been blasted for his ‘bizarre’ and ‘astonishing’ claim that cash-strapped Sandwell Council recieves too much money from the Government.

The Conservative MP bemoaned the fact that Dudley Council receives £60m less than Sandwell Council from the Government and the allocation should be ‘more fair’.

However, councillors are furious because Sandwell’s Cradley Heath, Blackheath and Rowley wards all fall within the constituency Mr Morris represents.

At the full Sandwell Council meeting Rowley Councillor Barbara Price asked deputy leader Councillor Steve Eling to respond to Mr Morris' comments concerning the local government grant.

“I was astonished at what James Morris said about the amount of money Sandwell gets, especially considering three wards in his constituency are in the Sandwell borough,” he said, adding:

“I find it utterly incredible that an elected representative can say something like that about an area of his constituency. It is very bizarre to say the least.

“Mr Morris should be pushing for the very best deal for his constituents in some of the hardest hit wards.”

He added: “It’s like him saying that his constituency has a plush semi-detatched part and a council estate and when the cuts come he wants the all cash to be taken away from the council estate.“ Rowley councillor Barbara Price said: “Sandwell is a lot more deprived than Dudley so I think what James said was in poor taste. After all the poorest constituents are going to be hit the hardest with all these cuts, and those constituents are in Sandwell.”

During a debate about Local Government the MP told Parliament: “My constituency straddles two boroughs, Dudley and Sandwell, one of which is Conservative-controlled and the other is Labour-controlled.

“My central focus is to ensure fairness in the grant allocation process, however, there is a discrepancy between these two metropolitan authorities.”

He added: “Dudley metropolitan council receives £60 million less funding than Sandwell metropolitan authority.

“They have similar levels of population and deprivation, yet there is a £60 million discrepancy.”