LOCAL MPs have been asked to help a North-East council win more Government cash, after provisional funding figures left the borough near the bottom of the national "funding league" for the year ahead.

When the Government announced how much grant money local councils would get, Gateshead Borough Council was given one of the worst figures in the country, with an increase of just over four per cent.

The borough has received the lowest increase in Tyne and Wear, and the second lowest in the country for similar urban councils.

Gateshead Council's leader and cabinet met the borough's MPs on Friday, to seek their support to lobby the Government for a better financial settlement for next year.

Councillor George Gill, the leader of Gateshead Council, said: "We have asked the borough's members of Parliament to raise Gateshead's case when they meet the Local Government Minister early in the New Year.

"It was a very positive meeting with the MPs. They have all promised Gateshead their support in our attempts to maintain the very best in services for local residents."