Local Government Finance Bill

When the hon. Lady has taken the opportunity to look at the statements of intent, she will see th...

It would be very helpful if the Minister explained to my constituents what extra power is being g...

The provision allows us to enter into discussions with local authorities about the point my right...

That is the point I am trying to get at. It is already an offence to make a fraudulent declaratio...

I am sorry if I did not make myself clear. The powers that local authorities rely on to guard aga...

Will the Minister explain to the House, for my benefit and, presumably, for the benefit of others...

The hon. Lady is well aware that there are such things as negligence and avoidance of reality. We...

I understand the point that the Minister is making about requiring organisations such as DWP to o...

I may wish to return to the right hon. Gentleman’s point later in the debate, if the opportunity ...

On new clause 10, when the Revenue has shared information with a local authority, what right will...

HMRC is obviously under the same obligations when transferring data in such a case as it is in ev...

I must say that that is not an adequate response to the question asked by the right hon. Member f...

I remind the right hon. Gentleman that at the moment HMRC shares these data with DWP, which then ...

The real danger, as the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) said, is that there will be ...

I am certainly keen to offer, on behalf of the Department and the Government, a clear undertaking...

Why does the default scheme replicate the existing scheme on a 10% cut? Is the intention to penal...

There is certainly an incentive for local authorities to introduce a scheme of their own choosing...

Are not the Government too often taking steps to implement legislation before it has been passed?...

In the last Session, the hon. Lady spent a lot of time telling us that we had not produced enough...

Is this not another example of not giving local councils freedom, but trying to push the blame on...

That is a severe criticism of new clause 2, which would pass down to councils the capacity to cha...

Is the Minister therefore committing to produce a report, as requested in new clause 5?

If the hon. Lady looks at the impact assessment submitted alongside the Bill, she will see that t...

On a point of clarification, the Minister appears to be saying that local authorities have a duty...

The Government have made it absolutely clear that that is a matter on which local authorities sho...

My hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) raises an interesting point. Clearly...

The hon. Gentleman has made his point. I should make it absolutely clear that, from the Governmen...

The Minister has just said that the Government want councils to be able to draw up schemes to tak...

I dealt with that point a minute or two ago, when I pointed out that the UK-wide reduction announ...

Will the Minister acknowledge that yet more demand and stimulus will be taken out of local econom...

I think the hon. Gentleman has got that slightly topsy-turvy. We are ensuring that it will always...

How can the Minister say that? He talks about protecting pensioners. In Rotherham, there are 2,60...

It would be interesting to hear the right hon. Gentleman tell the House how many of those 2,000 p...

You are giving with one hand and taking away with the other.

At least the right hon. Gentleman acknowledges that we are giving with one hand. It is right for ...

Is not the Minister making it quite clear that this is not about the reform of local government f...

The hon. Gentleman needs to take stock of just how much council tax benefit someone in band A in ...

As I am responsible for the amendments, may I remind the Minister that the first of the two he de...

It is completely unnecessary. The right hon. Gentleman could have tabled an amendment that said t...

I thank the Minister for addressing our new clause. Does he accept that there is a real problem w...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. For some rural areas, especially tourist-focused ones, a ...

The Minister keeps referring to the right the Bill gives councils to increase the charge on secon...

I understand the hon. Lady’s point, but in Rotherham the funding gap is £1.8 million and the tota...

I draw attention to my interests as declared in the register.

This is a shocking example of...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one other consequence of taking the Committee stage on the F...

My right hon. Friend, who is extremely experienced in these matters, makes a telling point. That ...

I think the Minister answered the question earlier: this measure is not about reform of local gov...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: this measure is not about reforming the benefits system or cr...

As my right hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr Raynsford) pointed out, the Bil...

My hon. Friend mentions Wigan in the north-west and authorities in the north-east, but the case h...

I agree. My right hon. Friend’s authority and mine are among the authorities that are having to t...

Does my hon. Friend agree that not only is the current settlement unfair, but it is the baseline ...

That is a very important point. That will limit the ability of my council in County Durham and my...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, identifying the regional inequalities at the heart of t...

Huge regional inequalities are involved. In addition, the pressures on councils in South Yorkshir...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, and I wholly agree with him about the adverse impact on...

Well it will be. The mistake that the Government are making in the spin they are clearly putting ...

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that for nearly the entirety of the period for which his party w...

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is old enough to remember records—I think he is—but if h...

One of the nightmares that local authority treasurers might well be thinking about is the downsid...

My right hon. Friend makes a good point. Let me take my constituency as an example. Compared with...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr Jones), who has more th...

Does the right hon. Gentleman endorse the proposal made by the hon. Member for North Durham, who ...

The hon. Gentleman must not have been listening carefully, because that is not the case my hon. F...

I apologise for coming late to the debate. I had a meeting elsewhere in the Palace.

My righ...

I am glad to see my hon. Friend in his place. He has been an active participant in all debates on...

To clarify my earlier point for the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, who is obviously havi...

My hon. Friend makes clearly and succinctly the points he made earlier.

I am concerned abou...

My right hon. Friend, as ever, speaks with great clarity and integrity. The core of the issue, as...

I wonder—are they unintended consequences? If they are, the degree of negligence in the legislati...

I wholly concur with my right hon. Friend’s argument. Does not he, like me, think it extraordinar...

I hesitate to disagree with my right hon. Friend, but I am not sure that they have forgotten it, ...

rose—

The Minister wants to intervene. Perhaps he will give the House the straight account of the figur...

I was going to intervene on the right hon. Gentleman’s last point, but I am happy to respond to t...

The Minister has just told the House and me that, to run the new scheme from April next year, Rot...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that any system has to be flexible enough to ensure that...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Any increase in need, demand and, as a consequence, cost will...

Is not this yet another example of the Secretary of State’s schizophrenic approach to local autho...

To be honest, no Minister of any Government is immune to that temptation. I am sure that it would...

Perhaps that is not as serious a case to put to the Government as ex-service personnel and carers...

It could be cat lovers.

I am sure that my right hon. Friend agrees that given their desperate state after the drubbing th...

Perhaps, Mr Deputy Speaker, I had better not pursue that. However, it is certainly true that give...

It is a pleasure to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey)...

My hon. Friend is making an extremely important point. The Government are introducing this Bill a...

I could not agree with my right hon. Friend more. The Government simply have no idea of the press...

My hon. Friend is coming to the crunch. A substantial number of people in receipt of council tax ...

My hon. Friend is correct and I will come on to some examples of what he says in a moment.

...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the people who will be affected are the same group who will be aff...

My hon. Friend is right. The same group of people is being hit again and again. Whatever the Gove...

My hon. Friend mentioned in passing the borough of Stockport. I will leave the Minister to speak ...

My hon. Friend is quite right. We can go through every local authority in England and find the nu...

Is it not telling that not a single Government Back Bencher has contributed to this debate in sup...

My right hon. Friend is entirely right. [Interruption.] The Under-Secretary says that it is becau...

My hon. Friend makes excellent points, but on the confusion in the appeals process it is not yet ...

My hon. Friend is entirely right. Even if we supported the Government’s changes in the Bill, thei...

I should like to remind the House that, contrary to some of the wild assertions from the Oppositi...

rose—

No, I am not going to give way.

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Minister has made a factually incorrect statement tha...

The right hon. Gentleman has pointed out that he believes the Minister’s statement to be incorrec...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am sure that the opportunity to give way will arise, and I shall ...

rose—

I am happy to give way to the hon. Gentleman, even though he could not find the time to be presen...

I am very grateful to the Minister for giving way. He keeps using the word “localisation”, but it...

The flexibility on discounts will apply to all empty homes from day one, not just to those that h...

I apologise for not being here earlier, but I was at a Select Committee meeting.

My right h...

That is exactly why we produced the statements of intent—to give local authorities and their prov...

Can the Minister explain what the position is when a person has not acted dishonestly? We have as...

I am surrounded by lawyers, and the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 6—Determination of cen...

I rise to speak to new clauses 1 and 11, and amendments 62 and 63.

My purpose with new clau...

The right hon. Gentleman has made admirably clear his concerns about the potential lack of commer...

I would have thought the hon. Gentleman, who represents the Cities of London and Westminster, wou...

I accept what the right hon. Gentleman says and he is absolutely right about commercial certainty...

Order. [Interruption.] Order—the hon. Gentleman must not test my patience even more. Intervention...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I got the gist. I welcome this Bill and I want it to work. My fear ...

It is not yet clear how local authorities’ needs will be assessed for the purpose of determining ...

My hon. Friend, who has experience of local government, has put his finger on the button. What wo...

My right hon. Friend has raised an important point about what the Government may choose to do wit...

Getting the reset procedure right is important not least because the initial baseline is so unfai...

My hon. Friend may well be right, and his Select Committee will doubtless keep a close eye on the...

Indeed. I have my misgivings about whether any approach to the reset procedure can make the syste...

Once again, I am very pleased to follow an interesting, passionate and well-informed speech from ...

May I use the example of my constituency to illustrate precisely the issue that my hon. Friend is...

It is the fundamental thing that the Government fail to understand: councils are not starting fro...

My hon. Friend is making precisely the point that needs to be made in these debates, which is tha...

My hon. Friend is right about that, and I shall discuss the number of people in care later. It is...

I am loth to interrupt my hon. Friend, who is making a powerful and passionate case that I have n...

My hon. Friend is quite right. In the first place, we could ensure that we address those legacies...

The question of developing local economies also does not take into account the relationship betwe...

My hon. Friend is quite right and that is true in many urban conurbations, such as Manchester and...

I ought to declare an interest, as my wife, Councillor Allison Gwynne, is the cabinet member for ...

I could not have put it better than did my hon. Friend. These services are demand-led; they are n...

Am I being a little cynical when I say that the Government have devised a scheme that is now so c...

I do not think my hon. Friend is at all cynical. He is exactly right. The whole point of the Bill...

Perhaps it is sign of the complexity of the subject and the fact that we have not exactly taken t...

I agree with the point that the hon. Member for North West Durham (Pat Glass) makes: local author...

Will the Minister give way?

I am going to make some progress if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me—[Interruption.] Very well,...

The Minister says that the system is being reformed because of the complications of the current s...

Compared with formula grant that the Labour Government left behind, yes I do. That view was share...

Given the Minister’s response to the Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, my ...

I think that the right hon. Gentleman will have to make do with a potted version given that I hav...

Members of another place will study the Minister’s remarks this evening very carefully and return...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

This is a bit like coming out in t...

Perhaps the Minister will now tell the House how he believes that publishing everything that is r...

If the right hon. Gentleman deigns to read the statements of intent, he will find what is effecti...

Wow!

I notice that the hon. Lady is in what some might uncharitably term “sneering mode” this evening....

I know that the Minister is an enthusiast, but those watching could be forgiven for thinking that...

The Government are having great difficulty in convincing anyone that the Bill does what they clai...

If it helps the proceedings, let me say I am happy to acknowledge the factual account the right h...

I am very grateful indeed to the Minister for that gracious apology.

The first part of this...