THOUSANDS of Harrovians' pleas for better services have been ignored by the Government.
More than 5,000 readers joined our 'Campaign for a Better Grant' petition, urging Whitehall to increase the money it gives to Harrow Council each year.
Back in March, the Observer's then editor, Lindsey Coulson, backed by a cross-party group of councillors, delivered the petition to Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
Now an official has written back - only to brush aside our arguments and refuse to take commonsense action.
The campaign highlighted that Harrow is penalised by the system central government uses to work out who gets what.
Last year, Harrow received £212 less per person on average than its neighbours - leaving residents shortchanged to the tune of £45m.
This is because local councillors have to spend a greater proportion of their budget tackling the problems associated with its diversity, such as health complications and language barriers.
The total that Harrow Council will be entitled to between 2008/9 and 2010/11 is so low that, like 24 of London's 33 boroughs, it will need to be topped up each year to the minimum level, known as the floor.
Councillor David Ashton, Leader of Harrow Council, said: "We are extremely disappointed that we still have one of the lowest grants in London and will continue to lobby government to obtain a fair deal for Harrow.
"By managing our budget careful-ly we have been able to invest in the areas most important to residents."
But Nikki Hinde, from the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: "The formula is designed to take into account the individual circumstances of each local authority relative to all others.
"I can assure you that the formulae are applied in the same way to all local authorities in England providing the same services.
"There is no special treatment for any individual local authority."
