The provisional figures cover spending from April next year, and will be subject to consultation and potential further revision in February.

The extra funding for next year includes £600m that will be allocated to councils according to their level of deprivation, with a separate grant to help rural councils deliver services “repurposed”.

Ministers argue this will make the system fairer because councils in poorer areas are less able to raise income locally, but it has prompted a backlash from the County Councils Network, which represents large county authorities.

The CCN said rural areas were set to lose out, and argued that deprivation is not a “key indicator of which councils are under the most financial distress”.

This argument is set to grow louder next year, when the government consults on introducing a stronger link between overall funding and deprivation from 2026 as part of a wider shake-up of council financing.

Ministers say the new formula will take into account the “impact of rurality” – but they could have a political row on their hands, with Tory councils in more rural areas likely to argue they are being short-changed.