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1064682

registered interest
date	21/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral contribution of 5 February 2019 of the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Official Report column 289, how that 4 per cent figure relating to deprivation was calculated.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
uin	224297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government is undertaking a review of the relative needs and resources of local authorities in England, with a view to setting fresh baseline funding levels in 2020-21. We are working closely with local government representatives and others to consider the drivers of local authorities’ costs, the resources available locally to fund services, and how we should account for these in a way that draws a more transparent and understandable link between local circumstances and resource allocations.</p><p>In December 2018 the Government published a consultation paper, which set out a proposed approach to assessing the relative needs of local authorities. Our analysis has shown that for many universal services, the number of people in each local authority area is the most important predictor of the costs that councils face in delivering those services. The consultation therefore proposes the introduction of a simple population-based Foundation Formula to account for many of the universal services that local authorities deliver, alongside several specific funding formulas for some of the largest and most complex service areas.</p><p>To understand whether including additional ‘cost drivers’, including deprivation, significantly improves the precision of the Foundation Formula, a comparison was made between the amount of variation in past expenditure that was explained by different combinations of cost drivers, to the total amount of variation in expenditure. The basis on which this comparison was made is set out in pages 19 to 21 of the consultation paper (link below). Whilst, in aggregate terms, deprivation was not shown to be a major cost driver for the services included in the Foundation Formula, to ensure that deprivation is appropriately accounted for in the relative needs assessment, deprivation, or a suitable proxy for deprivation, is taken into account in four of the service-specific formulas that were proposed.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-needs-and-resources" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-needs-and-resources</a>.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 26/02/2019 17:38:29 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

1064701

registered interest
date	21/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the correlation between changes in (a) local authority funding and (b) changes in the level of provision of local authority services, excluding social care, since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	224324
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2019 answer text <p>As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent of central government, and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities and their legal duties.</p><p>Central government funding cannot in isolation provide a true representation of local authority finances. The responsibilities, structure and makeup of local authorities have changed significantly since 2010 and spending power, formula grants and settlement funding assessments are not directly comparable over this period. For example, with the introduction of the Business Rates Retention Scheme, local authorities estimate they will keep around £2.4 billion in business rates growth in 2018-19.</p><p>As announced in the Local Government Finance Settlement, Core Spending Power is forecast to increase from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20. This is a cash-increase of 2.8 per cent and real-terms increase in resources available to local authorities. In the long term, the Spending Review will determine funding for local government from 2020-21 onwards and will enable us to look at local government spending in the round.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 224325 question first answered 26/02/2019 17:36:53 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1064702

registered interest
date	21/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the correlation between the (a) increased proportion of local authority spending on social care, (b) reduction in local authority overall spending on services other than social care and (c) decrease in local authority funding since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	224325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2019 answer text <p>As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent of central government, and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities and their legal duties.</p><p>Central government funding cannot in isolation provide a true representation of local authority finances. The responsibilities, structure and makeup of local authorities have changed significantly since 2010 and spending power, formula grants and settlement funding assessments are not directly comparable over this period. For example, with the introduction of the Business Rates Retention Scheme, local authorities estimate they will keep around £2.4 billion in business rates growth in 2018-19.</p><p>As announced in the Local Government Finance Settlement, Core Spending Power is forecast to increase from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20. This is a cash-increase of 2.8 per cent and real-terms increase in resources available to local authorities. In the long term, the Spending Review will determine funding for local government from 2020-21 onwards and will enable us to look at local government spending in the round.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak grouped question UIN 224324 question first answered 26/02/2019 17:36:53 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1064348

registered interest
date	20/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government Finance: Rural Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report entitled, Research into drivers of service costs in rural areas: national analysis of unit costs, published by LG Futures in December 2014, whether the conclusions of that report will be used as an evidence base in his Department's review of local government funding.
tabling member constituency	Oldham West and Royton
tabling member printed	Jim McMahon
uin	223822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government is undertaking a review of the relative needs and resources of local authorities in England, with a view to setting fresh baseline funding levels in 2020-21. We are working closely with local government representatives and others to examine all of the available evidence for the costs faced by authorities; including how factors such as rurality, sparsity and other geographical features affect the cost of delivering services across the country, and how to account for these in a robust manner.</p><p>Our December 2018 consultation paper (link below) set out a proposed Area Cost Adjustment approach, which uses the best available evidence, based on journey times, to reflect the impact of congestion in urban areas, as well as longer travel distances in rural areas on the relative cost of providing services. The consultation closed on 21 February and we will consider the many representations made in response, which will feed into the next phase of this work.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-needs-and-resources" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-local-authorities-relative-needs-and-resources</a>.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 25/02/2019 16:22:12 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4569 label Biography information for Jim McMahon

1063746

registered interest
date	18/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Public Lavatories: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities receive adequate funding to ensure that public toilets are sufficiently accessible for people with disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Tiverton and Honiton
tabling member printed	Neil Parish
uin	222681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities have discretion over the range of services they provide and will see their core spending power increase to £46.4 billion in 2019-20, a cash-increase of 2.8 per cent. To support the running of all public toilets, the Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget a new 100 per cent business rates relief for standalone public lavatories in England.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 25/02/2019 16:21:16 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4072 label Biography information for Neil Parish

1063749

registered interest
date	18/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government: Northamptonshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will request the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to undertake a structural review under Sections four to six of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 as part of considerations for new local government arrangements for Northamptonshire.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	222684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>We have recently undertaken the statutory consultation on the unitary proposal submitted by seven Northamptonshire councils, and my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State, now intends as soon as practicable to decide whether, subject to Parliamentary approval, to implement that proposal. We do not therefore intend to make a request under section 4 of the 2007 Act for the Local Government Boundary Commission to advise on that proposal.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 21/02/2019 13:49:52 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1063753

registered interest
date	18/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Unitary Councils
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on establishing the optimum (a) size of electoral division and (b) number of elected councillors in each county division before the April 2020 vesting deadline for new unitary local authorities; and what the outcome was of those discussions.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	222688
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2019 answer text <p>My officials meet regularly with officers of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England where a range of matters are discussed including the Government’s intentions for implementing proposals for new unitary councils. All such discussions are in the context of the Government’s clear recognition of the independence of the Commission and an appreciation of the Commission’s published guidance on electoral matters and its aim that electoral arrangements for councils should seek to be fair and deliver equality of representation for electors.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 22/02/2019 15:09:21 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1063762

registered interest
date	18/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government: Reorganisation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect that establishing the new unitary local government system will have on the equality of representation for electors.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	222697
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2019 answer text <p>It is through the electoral reviews undertaken by the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England that there can be confidence about equality of representation for electors. Where new unitary councils are set up their electoral arrangements for the first election will be established either through a Commission’s electoral review, or if an early review is not practicable, provided for in the order creating the new council drawing on existing electoral arrangements established by the Commission for predecessor councils. In the latter case it is expected that the Commission would undertake a review for subsequent elections, particularly if it judged that equality of representation for electors was not being effectively delivered.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 22/02/2019 15:08:31 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1063800

registered interest
date	18/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Local Government Finance: South Yorkshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 215579, by what process those funds were allocated.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	222735
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>The funding referred to is part of a £40 million allocation of funding to increase local authorities’ capacity to plan and prepare for Brexit, split between 2018/19 and 2019/20. The funds were allocated on a flat rate basis such that every upper tier authority, lower tier authority and combined authority received the same amount. Unitary authorities received the sum of the upper and lower tier allocations. Funding was split evenly between the two years.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 21/02/2019 13:50:23 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1062095

registered interest
date	15/02/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing: Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on local authority finances of student accommodation being exempt from council tax and business rates.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	222032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>The Local Government Finance Settlement takes into account the impact of student exemptions on local authorities’ income in its funding distribution methodology. The way we allocate funding in future – including how to account for differences in ability to raise local taxes - is being considered by the review of relative needs and resources.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 20/02/2019 13:46:23 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah