WORCESTERSHIRE has been handed an extra £5 million by the Government - as council chiefs today celebrated a surprise last-minute cash boost.

After showdown talks in Westminster, Local Government Secretary Greg Clark has responded to severe pressure by announcing an extra £416 million for the worst-hit local authorities.

The county council has been handed a two-year 'transition' fund worth £2.5 million each year, with the first pot coming over in April.

The outcome is a significant victory for new leader Councillor Simon Geraghty, who went to Westminster last week with Worcester MP Robin Walker to see Mr Clark after severely criticising Worcestershire's funding.

Despite a growing rebellion from Conservative-led shires around the country, a shift in Government position was still widely considered as being unlikely until the weekend.

Mr Clark, who last week asked for some time to ponder it, outlined his change of tack in the House of Commons yesterday where he gave a speech specifically mentioning Worcestershire's plight.

The county council's main Revenue Support Grant (RSG) is plunging a record 33 per cent for 2016/17, leaving it £11 million worse off overall.

The £5 million boost is aimed towards smoothing the transition to RSG funding being scrapped altogether by 2019, with councils instead allowed to keep all their business rates.

Councillor Geraghty said: "It's very welcome news, in our submission to the Government we raised a number of points and it's very pleasing they have listened.

"It shows how important it is to raise issues with the Government when you feel you've got a case."

During the talks at Westminster they told Mr Clark the funding formula was unfair to rural areas, citing services like bus subsidies and elderly social care as pressures which need to be funded.

During Mr Clark's announcement he insisted he had "listened" to the concerns of council leaders and MPs, and specifically mentioned Worcestershire alongside areas like Dorset, Leicestershire and Hampshire as those who helped the case.

Today, Robin Walker said: "This remains a tough settlement for local government and I am not going to pretend Worcestershire faces no challenge.

"But I am delighted Greg Clark really engaged with the arguments from Worcestershire and other counties, and that every one of the points MPs and councillors raised with him have been heard and at least partly addressed."

Of the £416 million, around £300 million has been earmarked for 'transitional grant' funding between now and 2018.

Mr Clark has also promised to review the funding formula with the "specific aim" of better supporting pressures around the UK's growing elderly population, which should help Worcestershire further.

A rural services delivery grant has also been increased by £93 million, while some plans to claw back more money from taxpayers under 'negative' RSG awards from 2017/18 have been shelved.

Worcester City Council, meanwhile, has been awarded £26,000 in transitional grant funding.