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Question
Simmons questioned the Minister about how councils would meet budget shortfalls in February without raising council taxes further. He also raised concerns over additional costs associated with asylum seekers' temporary accommodation and requested clarity on dedicated schools grant overrides and election preparation costs.
Minister reply
The minister acknowledged the challenges but emphasised that the package of measures announced provides certainty to councils, including £700 million in additional grants and a one-off share of £100 million from the business rates levy account. He also confirmed ongoing consultations to address concerns over election costs and fair funding reforms.
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Question
It is Christmas. Local councils have been promised support but face significant uncertainty due to proposed cuts in homelessness funding and additional costs from new statutory duties. The MP questions the Government's approach to asylum costs and election preparation expenses, and asks for clarity on council tax increases needed to cover budget shortfalls.
Minister reply
The Minister defended the multiyear settlements provided by his party, arguing they offer more stability than previous administrations. He mentioned the need to address crises in adult social care, children’s services, and homelessness during their tenure.
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Question
Acknowledging the funding uplift for councils, the MP questions how the new homelessness prevention grant will affect temporary accommodation funding and whether it is enough to address the root cause of homelessness. She also points out that families are stuck in temporary accommodation for years, which is unacceptable.
Minister reply
The Minister emphasised the importance of building 1.5 million new homes to solve housing crises and reduce reliance on temporary accommodation. He acknowledged the current challenges but underscored the long-term benefits of addressing these issues.
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Question
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as I am a Member of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council. Local government was brought to its knees under the last Conservative Government, with funding slashed and responsibilities piled on its depleted and exhausted workforce. I thank the local government workforce and wish them a happy Christmas. I welcome the move to multi-year settlements and the funding announced today for homelessness prevention. However, we remain really concerned about the removal of the rural services grant, which suggests that the Government do not understand the nature of rural communities. On special educational needs, it is deeply worrying that councils still have no idea about what will happen to the statutory override. As we go into winter, the impact on social care is of the greatest concern.
Minister reply
It is important that we have a debate on local government finance based on the numbers. No council will see a reduction in its core spending power before the final settlement, and the hon. Lady’s own council will see an increase of at least 5.8%. We are covering national insurance contributions for providers and funding an extra £880 million through the social care grant.
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Question
I welcome this commitment to local government and recognise that the Minister has a big job to do in addressing the challenges that have arisen because of the last 7 years. Will he give more detail about what will replace the Office for Local Government?
Minister reply
We are trying to get the right balance between the early warning system that enables us to see which individual councils are under stress, and noting any developing systemic threats or themes for which central Government might have to take much earlier action. We want to rebuild that early warning system without replacing the Audit Commission.
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Question
Will the Minister set out how he expects local authorities such as mine in Buckinghamshire to absorb with such little notice multi-million pound impacts from significant changes to the social care funding formula, and the effects of the NICs rises on commissioned services and suppliers?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady’s council will see a core spending power increase of 5%, which is only this part of the settlement—it does not include extended producer responsibility or billions of pounds in other grants that will come.
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Question
I would prefer to see the wise men and women on Labour’s Front Bench than Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley on the Conservative Front Bench. Does the Minister agree that the statement he has made today is in stark contrast to the legacy left by the Conservative party, which left local government in dire straits?
Minister reply
The previous Government knew just how bad the situation was but put off the tough decisions. For example, they failed to bring in a fair funding review and deal with the audit backlog. They could not account for £100 billion of public money.
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Question
Can I assure him that there are areas of deprivation in rural communities such as Buckinghamshire? Can the Minister give an assurance that rural communities will be treated equally to urban ones, and will not be left behind?
Minister reply
Either the hon. Gentleman does not know the status of the rural services delivery grant, or he is trying to mislead the House. We will absolutely make sure that deprivation and need are part of the funding reforms that are coming.
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Question
I welcome the Minister’s statement, particularly the additional funding to tackle homelessness and provide early help and support for families. However, councils urgently need certainty at this point regarding the statutory override for deficits related to special educational needs and disabilities.
Minister reply
The issue is very much on our agenda. We are consulting now on a number of matters, including the statutory override, and we are in constant dialogue with the Treasury about how we deal with that in the long term.
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Question
Welcomes the £3.7 billion for social care but questions whether full-scale reform is needed for social care, proposing a commission to undertake this work.
Minister reply
Agrees that reform is necessary but emphasises the urgency of addressing the current crisis in adult and children's social care due to changes in eligibility criteria since 2010. Acknowledges efforts to innovate and invest in community preventative services.
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Question
Welcomes the settlement but questions whether it is fair for council areas with growing populations like Telford and Wrekin, which have provided outstanding services.
Minister reply
Reassures that core spending power in Telford will increase by 8.1% this year, reflecting service demand pressures and local tax bases. Acknowledges the need to rebuild adult and children’s social care, housing, and neighbourhood services.
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Mike Wood
Con
Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Question
Questions why funding for South Staffordshire is down by 7.5%.
Minister reply
Explains that the Government’s role is to equalise local government finance, providing more funding in areas with lower tax bases to ensure service provision meets demand.
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Question
Welcomes today's statement and asks if the council tax system will be reviewed for fairness, and confirms that the local audit office will be a stand-alone body.
Minister reply
Confirms Sheffield’s core spending power increase by 8.5%, agrees to review council tax due to its regressive nature but acknowledges its current understanding among people, proposes rebuilding an early warning system for systemic issues.
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Question
Asks about plans to ensure additional funding for rural local authorities to manage extra costs of service delivery.
Minister reply
Acknowledges the need for a fairer funding formula that takes into account the premium cost of rural service delivery, with consultation on component parts.
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Question
Welcomes increased funding but seeks reassurance on further reforms for public services, local funding, business rates, and innovation investment.
Minister reply
Emphasises the need for a single plan by local government to rally around places and their people, respecting local leadership in delivering right outcomes.
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Question
Large rural counties such as Norfolk face higher costs in delivering their services, and the Government’s jobs tax adds £14 million to the pressures that Norfolk county council is facing. Can the Minister clarify whether the NICs funding he referred to in his statement, which will go to Norfolk county council and other councils, will cover the cost of social care commissioned services?
Minister reply
First, I pay tribute to the leaders in both Norfolk and Suffolk for the conversations we are having, particularly on devolution. We look forward to, I hope, making progress on that in the near future, because that is where the real prize is. We can sort out the foundations of council funding and reorganise public services to get efficiencies, but in the end we need to see devolution. The best way to achieve that is through a mayoral strategic authority working hand in glove with local authorities. On the question about NICs, we have provided over £500 million for the costs of employers’ national insurance contributions and we are providing additional money through the social care grant.
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Question
I welcome the Minister’s statement and the fact that this Government are starting to fix the damage done by more than a decade of disastrous settlements for local government. In my constituency, that means increases of more than 5% for each local authority in core spending power, but does the Minister agree that as important, if not more important, is the consultation on long-term proposals to fundamentally improve the way that local government is funded through a fairer system?
Minister reply
That is exactly right. We have approached this year as very much a recovery operation. We could see that councils were in the ditch and needed to be pulled out and taken home, and that is exactly what this one-year settlement will do. However, what they need and deserve is a multi-year settlement that gives long-term security and stability, and for that long-term settlement not to be the continuation of a broken system, but a system that has been rewired and put right.
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Question
We have heard a lot from colleagues about the delivery of rural services. Harrogate and Knaresborough was one of the areas that saw local government reorganisation, and we are now geographically the largest council in England. So what reassurances will there be on making sure that rural services can be provided? One of the biggest barriers the council faces is being able to deliver home to school transport, the cost of which has gone from £5 million just a few years ago to what is expected to be over £25 million this year.
Minister reply
I have covered the rural services element before, so I will home in on the home to school transport issue. The plan we have to rebuild education and to invest in schools, some of it funded through impositions on private schools to get that money into the state sector, is about rebuilding local education provision so that parents have the choice and the confidence to go to the state school nearest to their home.
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Question
After eight years of Conservative rule in Stoke-on-Trent, the council was taken to the brink of bankruptcy, and the Minister will be well aware of the extraordinary financial support that we have received and about which we are having additional conversations. How will the recovery fund interact with authorities in receipt of extraordinary financial support? May I also put on record the thanks of the city to Councillor Alastair Watson and Jon Rouse, the chief executive, for the work they have done to stabilise council finances in difficult times?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and I join him in paying tribute to the council officers and council leadership in Stoke-on-Trent. As a direct cash payment—Stoke-on-Trent council will get £8.7 million, and its core spending power will increase by 8.6% just in this round, but that may well over 10% by the time the full allocations come through. That is part of the rebuilding process.
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Question
I thank the Minister for his statement. I recognise and accept the importance of proper funding for areas of high deprivation, but it is important to acknowledge that councils with low deprivation face rising demand for their services. In my constituency of Wokingham, children with special educational needs and disabilities are suffering from this lack of investment. They are deprived, too, but in ways that are not being measured, so their council is not getting the crucial funding to look after SEND services properly.
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Member for coming to one of our surgeries to make representations on behalf of his council. I know that he cares about these issues. We need to be careful not to think that those who have received the recovery grant are the only places that have deprivation, because that is not the case. The recovery grant is very targeted and has two components: one is whether the area has a weaker tax base; the other is whether the area has significantly higher deprivation than other comparable areas.
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Question
I thank the Minister and his team for listening to the voices of Portsmouth North and for the additional funding allocated to homelessness and rough sleeping, so that Portsmouth city council’s projected deficit can be addressed. Can the Minister confirm that after five months in government, this is just the start of additional support for our councils? Can he also clarify that, should the Lib Dem-run Portsmouth city council need further advice, his door is always open?
Minister reply
I congratulate my hon. Friend on her question to the Prime Minister earlier. The council’s overall core spending power will increase by 7.8%. Putting Portsmouth to one side, whatever measures we take in general terms, we can never cast the net so wide and so thinly that we catch every council at the extreme ends. If we did, the net would never get to the depth needed.
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Question
I draw the House’s attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a county councillor in Oxfordshire. In my constituency and in my surgeries and correspondence, the frustration, desperation and anger of parents and children with special educational needs is constant and shocking. Their needs are not being met, and as the Minister has acknowledged, the funding shortfall for the high needs block is significant and has led to a deficit, which the Local Government Association estimates will be £3.6 billion at the end of this financial year.
Minister reply
Yes, I can confirm that we are providing, with the support of the Department for Education, new funding of £1 billion to support the high needs block in SEND for the reasons that the hon. Member says. We also know that money today is not the answer in the long term. We have to reform SEND provision in the mainstream, so that parents and pupils get the support that they need.
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Question
I welcome the money for homelessness in today’s statement. Evidence increasingly suggests that prevention works in homelessness. Calderdale is one of three local authorities working with Crisis to pilot a system of early prevention. In six months, that has already led to a 20% reduction in people using temporary accommodation.
Minister reply
My hon. Friend makes a good point. Where councils such as Calderdale are doing well and excelling, they are working hand in glove with the local community and voluntary organisations to ensure they get the coverage to reach into communities.
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Question
Asked the Minister about discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland regarding securing greater funding through Barnett consequentials to support local government in Northern Ireland.
Minister reply
Acknowledged the importance of adequate funding for public services but declined to comment directly on Northern Irish affairs, emphasising the role of councils in delivering essential services and promising to pass along Shannon's representation.
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Question
Welcomed additional homelessness funding for Ealing council but asked how it would help those sleeping rough tonight and end the use of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts.
Minister reply
Noted the increased funding is part of a wider plan to address homelessness, emphasising the need for affordable housing and acknowledging the unsustainability of relying on temporary accommodation.
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Question
Welcomed multi-year certainty in council funding but asked about additional funding for Milton Keynes with the loss of the new homes bonus.
Minister reply
Reassured that overall core spending power in Milton Keynes will increase by 6.1% and more is expected as part of the final settlement, showing partnership between Government and council.
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Question
Welcomed extra funding for homelessness but asked about support for councils with significant debt.
Minister reply
Acknowledged past issues of disproportionate borrowing by some councils, noted the recovery grant was designed to address deprivation and low tax bases, and offered one-to-one support conversations.
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Question
Welcomed additional funding for homelessness and rough sleeping in Harlow but asked about joined-up thinking on new homes and NHS investment.
Minister reply
Acknowledged the work of Harlow representatives, expressed readiness to address long-term funding issues, and emphasised rebuilding foundations.
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Question
Complimented the Minister for bringing forward a fair deal but asked about lifting housing benefit subsidy cap.
Minister reply
Emphasised need to build 1.5 million new homes, focusing on affordable social and council provision, highlighting inefficiencies in current accommodation arrangements.
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Question
Welcomed funding announcements but asked for assurance of adequate essential service funding.
Minister reply
Noted St Helens' core spending power will increase by 8.6%, potentially topping 10% given the council's type, as part of a down payment acknowledging councils' inability to wait.
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Question
Welcomed additional homelessness funding for Gateshead but asked about support for crumbling infrastructure.
Minister reply
Acknowledged need for both quantum of funding and freedom from ringfencing, committing to supporting councils like Gateshead with necessary infrastructure.