Local Government Minister John Healey revealed on Thursday that Newham's provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2008/9 is £211.1 million - a rise of 5.1 per cent or £10.3 million on this year's figure.

And the minister also announced that Newham is to receive £13.24 million from the Government for each of the next three financial years as part of its drive to turn around long term unemployment.

Nationally the formula grant for local authorities increased by 3.6 per cent and for London the figure rose by just 2.4 per cent.

Newham's provisional figure for 2009/10 is £218 million - up 3.3 per cent on 2008/9. The proposed grant for 2010/11 is £224.1 million - up 2.8 per cent on 2009/10. It is the first time ever that there has been a three-year settlement.

Sir Robin said: "The Government has recognised the efforts we are making to improve the services to our diverse community. This settlement will allow us to keep investing in what we provide for our growing population.

"I have had many meetings with Mr Healey in recent months to lobby for Newham's needs to be recognised and receive the money we deserve. Support has also come from MPs Stephen Timms and Lyn Brown.

"The amount we receive affects our budget for next year, the services we provide and the levels of our Council Tax. I have carried out a major financial review and identified ways of making efficiency savings worth £26 million while still maintaining the services valued by our community. Whatever we do, we will keep Council Tax increases to a minimum and the impact on residents as low as possible."

The £13.24 million to spend on dealing with long term unemployment is the highest amount in London. The money comes from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, which is a dedicated fund for councils to develop community-led approaches to getting people in deprived areas back to work. It replaces the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund.

The Mayor said: "I welcome the Government's desire to tackle long term unemployment through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. This money represents a significant contribution towards services in the borough.

"We already have a local response to the nationwide problem of worklessness which is addressed through our employment scheme, Workplace, which in six months has helped 300 people find work.

"More intensive support is provided through our recently launched employment pilot, which concentrates on getting the long term unemployed off benefits and into work, even if this means ensuring their Housing Benefit shortfalls are met by the council."

As a result of robust lobbing by the mayor and local MPs, the minister has pledged to look again at the issue of reviewing Newham's status as an outer London borough.

Added the Mayor: "The minister deserves praise for the way he has put together this settlement for local government but we, together with our MPs, will continue to lobby him and civil servants on our area cost adjustment issue. It is a campaign that has gone on for years, but we have no intention of ceasing our efforts because we could do so much with the extra £70 million that inner London status would bring."