Local Government Finance Bill

I will make a little progress before I give way again. The hon. Member for Sheffield South East took us a little way down memory lane with GREs and SSAs. There has always been an element of equalisation and that will continue. The rather complicated and highly prescriptive process that is built into the amendments does not improve on what is set out in the Bill. Indeed, it would undermine some of the key objectives of the Bill. The hon. Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) and her hon. Friends are seeking to place what we regard as an unnecessary requirement on the Secretary of State to undertake multiple and frequent assessments of needs. That undermines the key objective of long-term certainty which provides the incentive and also stability in a local authority's funding. As it is, the needs and resources elements are taken into account at the setting of the baseline. The baseline is set and then it runs forward. They are taken into account. Some people say, ““Go back to a previous year on the baseline””, even though that would involve more out-of-date data and formulae. Many would say that that was not fair.