Local Government Finance

At this stage, given that I gave way so much earlier, I shall not. I was talking about hon. Members with significant experience, and they include my hon. Friends the Members for Leeds, East (Mr. Mudie), for Wigan (Mr. Turner), for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Jim Cousins) and for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (Mr. Slaughter). It is also true that some Opposition Members speak with the same significant experience, including the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry), and the hon. Members for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) and for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt). We have heard some reflective contributions in a good if slightly short debate. My experience of seven or eight months of doing this job and being in the position to take decisions on how to distribute £27.5 billion suggests that almost every one of the 456 authorities in England feels that it has a special case and that it has in some way been uniquely disadvantaged by previous Government decisions. It is also the case that doing this job is not generally likely to win one many friends. However, let me read out to the House brief excerpts from two representations that I received during the consultation—in total, 340 representations were received from 246 authorities and organisations. The first said that the settlement in December"““turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the… Council… We felt it only right and proper to write and say thank you for your work and your decisions this time””." The second said:"““We all know resources are significantly constrained under CSR07 settlement… That is why it was crucial to ensure that how the resources allocated to local government were suitably sub-allocated to individual authorities was done fairly. I believe you have got that allocation in the form of the provisional settlement broadly right””," which is why the letter was written to ““express thanks”” to the Department. The first came from the Labour leader of Lancashire council and the second from the Tory leader of Kent council. I say to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst that it could not be clearer that that gives the lie to any accusations that this settlement is somehow riddled with geographical or political bias. I also have to tell the hon. Gentleman that it does local government a disservice when he dismisses it, saying that people are getting less from more funding for local government. The latest Audit Commission figures show that four out of five councils—up from two thirds a year ago—are rated either good or excellent. They show that nine out of 10 councils provide good value for money and that where more than half of people are satisfied with their council, they rightly expect it to save money. In doing so, councils must show that they have maintained or improved local services in order to count any of their savings as efficiencies. My hon. Friend the Member for Wigan chairs the all-party SIGOMA—special interest group of municipal authorities—and I welcome his welcome for the settlement. I thought that, by and large, he made a balanced speech. He was right that the settlement means that those with the greatest needs will get the resources. He also reminded us of the experience of local government under the previous Conservative Government—four years of real cuts under the Tories running up to 1997 have been followed by 10 years of above-inflation rises. This settlement and those increases, combined with tough capping action, have helped bring down council tax increases, and, following its introduction in 1993, three of the four lowest rises in council tax have occurred in the past four years. We will not hesitate to use our capping powers to protect taxpayers from excessive increases, but this is a settlement for three years. It provides greater flexibility and more resources, and is backed by more than a third of a billion pounds to help councils improve, innovate and cut inefficiency. Responsibility for delivering the settlement now rests with councils. I commend the settlement and the report to the House. Question put:— The House divided: Ayes 278, Noes 45.