Local Government Finance

With this we will consider the following:

That the Referendums Relating to Council Tax Incr...

On 18 December, I presented to the House a draft of the local government finance report, which se...

During the Minister’s remarks, will he tell the House what the Government are doing to assist rur...

I assure my right hon. Friend that I will consider rural provision in my speech. Since coming to ...

The Minister says he wants a settlement that is fair to all communities. He has himself recognise...

My hon. Friend always makes a robust challenge to the figures we lay before the House, because he...

The Minister says that local government has to bear its fair share of the cuts. Does he accept th...

I do not have those figures, but what I will say is that I recognise that local government has ha...

If the Minister listened carefully to representations and wanted to be fair, how can the outcome ...

We need to recognise—I have said this before—that the 10% most deprived authorities receive on av...

Does the Minister accept that spending power disguises the real pressure on many councils, and th...

I hope, then, that the right hon. Gentleman has apologised to his constituents for the financial ...

Can the Minister comment on the balance in his settlement between the money that goes directly in...

I hope my right hon. Friend will forgive me; I cannot give him the percentage change, but I can g...

The low level of private rents in the London borough of Havering has given rise to a surge in dem...

The key thing about the choices that we have placed before local government is just that—local au...

The hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Dame Angela Watkinson) mentioned demand for childre...

I am not moving away from the fact that there was a huge deficit in 2010, which this Government o...

rose—

I shall give way in a few moments.

We continue to recognise the challenges faced by rural c...

Does the Minister recognise the challenges faced by London, whose population is on the increase? ...

What I recognise is that London is a great international city, which has thrived under this Admin...

rose—

Let me make a bit more progress.

The Government previously consulted on a range of options ...

My hon. Friend is generous in giving way this afternoon. Harborough district council area covers ...

Members have asked for a clear direction of travel in relation to our incremental increases in ru...

Will the Minister acknowledge the warnings issued by the Local Government Association about the c...

I suggest that one of the reasons Brighton council is struggling is its poor leadership. Moreover...

Will the money be distributed in a way that is proportionate to the number of over-65s in local p...

Although I live in a large metropolitan district, I also represent a significant rural area, and ...

I welcome the extra funds that will help people to be moved from hospital into the community or t...

The additional £37 million is specifically to address some of the winter pressures we face. We wa...

The Minister asserted that the settlement was both fair and sustainable, and I want to address th...

I have a lot of respect for the hon. Lady, but I am afraid that poor leadership in Birmingham and...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the real way to achieve proper sustainability for local government...

My hon. Friend speaks very wisely and he knows from his own experience that local authorities app...

I have no doubt the Minister will want to congratulate Hammersmith and Fulham council, which is o...

This Government continue to ensure there is a substantial welfare net to look after the most vuln...

My local authority, the London borough of Enfield, is the 64th most deprived in the country, but ...

There are two things. First, there is not a cap; there is an opportunity for people to increase t...

That was an interesting speech. I pay tribute to the Minister for his generosity in giving way to...

I would disagree, because neither the LGA nor the NAO includes the money for public health or the...

I shall come to that point directly, but the Minister did not actually contest the NAO figure. Th...

If we are talking about making admissions, will the right hon. Gentleman now accept that his Gove...

I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that I resent that suggestion. I make no apology for the fact...

rose—

I am going to make some more progress; the hon. Gentleman has had his answer. I accept the point ...

It is a pity that the right hon. Gentleman quoted selectively, forgetting that I said that that w...

Once again, I do not accept the charge that this is about distributing funds to friends; it is ab...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

No. The hon. Gentleman may not like the fact, but the truth is that Conservative-controlled autho...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the way the Government have approached local government fina...

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the difficult choices faced by local authorities up...

I wish to give one example to show that this is all about the political nature of an authority ra...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for putting the record straight, given the charge that has been l...

My right hon. Friend is making a powerful and principled point about the way that funding has mov...

My right hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. That is why the attempt that the Ministe...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. He will appreciate that in a constituen...

I have no intention of depriving the hon. and learned Gentleman’s local authority of CIL income, ...

A good illustration of what is happening in local government can be seen in Coventry, at Universi...

I agree and I shall come to that point, too, when I talk about the consequences of what has happe...

The shadow Secretary of State is usually very fair-minded, so does he agree that the largest loca...

Indeed. If one looks back at the record of the previous Labour Government, one can see that that ...

I am sure that the shadow Secretary of State is aware that the 12 inner London boroughs hold more...

The size of the reserves held by authorities across the country—they have been criticised by Mini...

So what the right hon. Gentleman is saying is that we have to take the homes and he gets the bonu...

There is section 106 and there is CIL in order to raise financing. There are also the changes tha...

The right hon. Gentleman said that he would bring in a new, fairer funding formula for local gove...

If we get the opportunity after a certain event on 7 May, I would be very happy to receive repres...

rose—

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I have been generous in giving way, but I am going to bring my remarks to a close because many ot...

In one respect, it is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn),...

I share my hon. Friend’s concern, because what I have just heard is a proposal to reverse what th...

It is a little like the classic Henry Ford approach of telling people that they can have any colo...

Did my hon. Friend notice the continued insult to England? The Opposition say absolutely nothing ...

Order. The right hon. Gentleman has got his point on the record, but you will stick to local gove...

Indeed I will, Madam Deputy Speaker. As we consider the future shape of the United Kingdom, I hop...

The hon. Gentleman, like me, has had a long career in local government. Over 40 years, I have hea...

That is certainly true of Labour Governments when they have come into office. I would gently add ...

My hon. Friend is rightly dissecting the speech given by the shadow Secretary of State, who faile...

At the end of the day, it is implicit that a Labour Government would carry out a redistribution. ...

If we have to build all these homes in Hertfordshire without the new homes bonus, and if our CIL ...

I have no doubt that we would also see the imposition of regional planning through the right hon....

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will of course give way to the Chair of the Select Committee.

I agree with the hon. Gentleman on the business rate—the direction of travel is right, and it is ...

Yes, it is very clear that more new homes are being built. The right hon. Member for Leeds Centra...

This Parliament will clearly go down as the Parliament of austerity, but let us go back to 2010 a...

The hon. Gentleman is the only senior commentator I have heard suggest that the economy stalled p...

That is interesting. If the hon. Gentleman is saying that the fundamental problem was a major dis...

We were protecting the health service. You can’t have it both ways.

The hon. Gentleman shouts, “We were protecting the health service,” but social care provided by l...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will make a little progress and come back to the hon. Gentleman.

There are major issues. ...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful and incisive point. Does he agree that this bears down partic...

Absolutely. As I say, Ministers can make an argument that those who have had the most grant might...

The hon. Gentleman talks about double counting. He accepted that the Government had protected the...

I think we should also deal with the myth that somehow the NHS has been protected. If we look at ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts).

It would be...

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), the shadow Secret...

Is it the hon. Gentleman’s understanding, as it is mine, that the Labour party has not pledged to...

My right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Centralwas absolutely clear about the funding. He said ...

This Government have done a tremendous job in rectifying some of the wrongs the previous Administ...

Whatever the Government’s protestations, it is absolutely clear that the settlement is grossly un...

As a vice-president of the Local Government Association, I wish to start by discussing the LGA fi...

Can my right hon. Friend explain why her party believes that the local government settlement shou...

I think I will stick to the issue under discussion this afternoon. I am very much speaking from a...

I rise to make a few remarks on behalf of the city of Leicester, which I am fortunate enough to r...

I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman can tell us what the unemployment rate, including for young p...

The unemployment rate increased quite significantly under this Government, and it has now begun t...

Would it not be true to point out also that many of my hon. Friend’s constituents are on zero-hou...

In his contribution a few moments ago, my hon. Friend spoke eloquently about the need for Britain...

It is a pleasure to take part in this debate. We have heard a number of excellent speeches from b...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

In a moment. This is not about Toxteth or areas of the most concentrated deprivation; it is about...

The hon. Gentleman talks about the income profile of rural residents being somewhat lower. Would ...

I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s point, but that would mean a further bill for a left-wing organ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will happily give way to the hon. Gentleman. Perhaps he will be able to provide us with more ho...

The hon. Gentleman was very keen to intervene on virtually everybody else who has spoken, so I am...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. I had hoped that he would talk about t...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Labour has said that it would raid the new homes bo...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman) said ho...

Some of us might well wish the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) would hold his...

From a seaside town, we move to an inland city that also has great needs that are not being met b...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Yes, I will, but this will have to be the only time.

I am grateful. Because the hon. Gentleman’s speech is so gloomy, I thought he might like to hear ...

I said I would give way only once to the hon. Gentleman, but I will give way again. He has looked...

The hon. Gentleman will be aware—[Interruption.] I will tell him. Between 2009 and 2010, the numb...

The hon. Gentleman has perhaps missed the fact that there was a worldwide recession at that time,...

It a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burde...

A long time ago!

It is a long time ago, but I can still milk a cow—if the hon. Gentleman wants to take me up on th...

Done!

Name the time, name the place, I am there.

However, cities such as Birmingham, ethnically d...

What a difference a year makes. At the time of the previous debate on the local government financ...

The debate has illustrated just how clueless the Government are about the impact of the cuts impo...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

The hon. Gentleman has virtually made two speeches, given his 20 interventions, so I am sure that...

We have had 13 Back-Bench contributions to the debate.

Most ...

Under the Government’s projections, in two years’ time, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and Newc...

That would indeed seem rather odd on the face of it, but we are talking about the settlement now,...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments about rural areas. Labour Members have not said ...

That is absolutely right. Contrary to the predictions made by the shadow Chancellor, in particula...