Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Council Funding

Monday 2 September 2024 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 5 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Local councils are financially precarious and need support to deliver essential services.
  • The English devolution Bill aims to address power imbalance but does not solve budget shortfalls.
  • A review of local government funding is planned to address the actual needs and costs faced by local authorities.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Natasha Irons Lab Croydon East
Local Government
Context

The question arises from the financial difficulties faced by local authorities in funding essential public services.

Question

What steps she is taking with local authorities to help ensure that they have adequate resources to fund local services. There can be no way of fixing the foundations of this country without fixing the foundations of local government, so I am pleased to hear that this council—sorry, this Government—are looking to reset the relationship with local councils; as a local councillor, I am stuck in the habit.

Answer from Jim McMahon

Local councils are central to delivering on this Government's missions, and to changing this country for the better, but we know that many of them are on a cliff edge financially, and many of them will be fearful for their budget going forward. We will work in partnership with my hon. Friend. The Department's door is always open to local authorities that need to have conversations.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific support measures requested but only general commitment given

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Q2 Alison Bennett Lib Dem Mid Sussex
Local Government
Context

The question is prompted by the English devolution Bill which aims to address the imbalance of power between central government and communities.

Question

Can the Minister explain how the English devolution Bill will reduce local authority budget shortfalls, ensuring that essential council services for the public are protected?

Answer from Jim McMahon

The English devolution Bill is a landmark piece of legislation that will finally address the imbalance of power between this place and communities up and down the country, but it is not in itself the answer. We know that the financial foundations on which it rests are local authorities, which are struggling. That is why we are committed to multi-year funding settlements and fair funding.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures requested but only general commitment given

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Q3 Clive Jones Lib Dem Wokingham
Local Government
Context

The question stems from a major review of local government funding next year, focusing on the lowest-funded unitary authority in the country: Wokingham.

Question

I understand that there will be a major review of local government funding next year. I represent Wokingham, whose council is the lowest-funded unitary authority per head in the country. Will the review look at the actual needs and costs faced by local authorities, as opposed to the current methodology of allocating funding, which is based on historical data and is disproportionately skewed by simplistic measures of deprivation?

Answer from Jim McMahon

Any fair funding formula of course has to address the range of challenges that local authorities face, whether that is their local tax base, and how much they can realistically generate from their local communities and businesses, or the cost of service delivery and the demand within a local community. We will ensure that the fair funding formula, of which multi-year settlements are a part, is done with that rigour.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific review method requested but only general commitment given

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Q4 Natasha Irons Lab Croydon East
Local Government
Context

The question addresses the relationship between central government and local authorities, specifically focusing on support for financially struggling councils.

Question

There can be no way of fixing the foundations of this country without fixing the foundations of local government, so I am pleased to hear that this council—sorry, this Government—are looking to reset the relationship with local councils; as a local councillor, I am stuck in the habit. Will the Minister please outline what specific support will be given to councils that have had to issue section 114 notices, to ensure that they can deliver on this Government's aims throughout the country?

Answer from Jim McMahon

Local councils are central to delivering on this Government's missions, and to changing this country for the better, but we know that many of them are on a cliff edge financially, and many of them will be fearful for their budget going forward. We will work in partnership with my hon. Friend. The Department's door is always open to local authorities that need to have conversations.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific support measures requested but only general commitment given

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Q5 Liam Byrne Lab Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
Local Government
Context

The question involves the speculative estimates of equal pay liabilities affecting council funding in Birmingham, prompting a request for reassessment.

Question

Council funding in Birmingham is inadequate because of a set of sadistic directions based on speculative estimates of equal pay liabilities. No one believes those estimates, not even the lead commissioner, so will the Minister revisit those directions quickly and meet with Birmingham MPs to help us to get them right?

Answer from Jim McMahon

First, we need to reset the relationship between the Westminster Government and local authorities. I have seen far too many examples where the Secretary of State and Ministers have, at this Dispatch Box, hung individual councils out to dry. That is not a relationship of equals at all. I thank the leadership of Birmingham for taking the tough decisions and actions that are needed. This Government will work in partnership with them in a constructive way, as equals, going forward.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific request to reconsider directions but only general commitment given

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