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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

1059641

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 11 February (HL13242), whether local authorities are meeting the government's stated expectations of making savings while continuing to provide excellent services to local communities.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL13661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2019 answer text <p>Councils have done fantastically well in reforming the way they work to become more efficient, both in back-office functions and front-line service delivery – and we welcome that. But with councils accounting for a quarter of all public spending, we and the sector know there is more to do. Councils need to continue playing their part in tackling the deficit, and we will be supporting them to do so. Across the country, councils are looking at ways to:</p><ul><li>manage demand for transformed services</li><li>deliver services differently with partners,</li><li>make greater use of technology to reduce cost and improve service quality,</li><li>become more commercial, and</li><li>improve staff productivity.</li></ul> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 26/02/2019 14:09:42 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1059642

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government which local authorities are failing to make savings while continuing to provide excellent services to local communities in line with the government's stated expectations; and what remedial action, if any, they propose.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL13662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2019 answer text <p>Councils have done fantastically well in reforming the way they work to become more efficient, both in back-office functions and front-line service delivery – and we welcome that. But with councils accounting for a quarter of all public spending, we and the sector know there is more to do. Councils need to continue playing their part in tackling the deficit, and we will be supporting them to do so. Across the country, councils are looking at ways to:</p><ul><li>manage demand for transformed services and deliver services differently with partners,</li><li>make greater use of technology to reduce cost and improve service quality,</li><li>become more commercial, and</li><li>improve staff productivity.</li></ul><p>In terms of specific councils, there is no definitive list or “right answer” on this, and it is local areas that are responsible for managing their own resources and performance. My department looks at risk levels in councils so that we can work with the Local Government Association and across Government to support them and prevent financial or service delivery failure.</p> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 26/02/2019 16:17:37 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1052334

registered interest
date	31/01/2019
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, what assessment his Department made of the needs of urban areas when allocating £1 billion of additional funding in the provisional local government finance settlement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	215162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The final local government finance settlement confirmed a real-terms increase in available funding for local authorities to help deliver local services, support vulnerable residents and build vibrant communities.</p><p>This includes an additional £650 million for social care, allocated using the well-established Adult Social Care relative needs formula, which takes into account the relative needs of local authorities, including in urban areas.</p><p>The additional resources provided through the settlement also included the distribution of £180 million of surplus in the business rates retention levy account, which was allocated on the basis of each authority’s 2013-14 Settlement Funding Assessment. The Settlement Funding Assessment is a measure of the relative needs of local authorities, including in urban areas.</p><p>Funding baselines for every authority are determined by an assessment of the relative needs of areas, including measures of deprivation.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 07/02/2019 17:14:15 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1050821

registered interest
date	29/01/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much local government funding has been reduced since 2010; and what assessment they have made of the effect on vulnerable communities of such reductions.
tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
uin	HL13242
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>Since 2010 there have been changes to the financing and functions of local government, and therefore spending power, the measure of funding available to local authorities, is not directly comparable over this period.</p><p>Prior to 2013-14, Formula Grant was non-ring fenced money for local government services. It was funded by central government grant and redistributed business rates. From 2013-14, Settlement Funding Assessment became the way central government provided local authorities with non-ring fenced funding for local government services.</p><p>Councils will have had access to over £200 billion over the five-year period 2015-16 to 2019-20, and funding for local government will increase in real-terms next year.</p><p>As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent of central government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities. However, the Government expects local authorities to meet the challenge of making savings, while continuing to provide excellent services to local communities. It is for local authorities to conduct their own impact assessments of local decisions on residents, including vulnerable adults and children.</p> answering member printed Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth question first answered 11/02/2019 16:42:57 answering member 4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1050082

registered interest
date	28/01/2019
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, what assessment his Department has made of regional trends in the level of funding changes experienced by local authorities since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	213209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities are funded from a mixture of central and local resources, including grants, retained business rates and council tax. Local authorities’ Revenue and Capital Account returns show the amounts from each source of income, and these are available online as follows:</p><p>i) in the 'RS', ‘RSX’ and 'RG' data tables on the 'individual local authority data - outturn' web page for each year at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing</a>, and</p><p>ii) in the 'COR-B and 'COR4' data tables on the 'individual local authority data' web page for each year at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-capital-expenditure-receipts-and-financing" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-capital-expenditure-receipts-and-financing</a>.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 31/01/2019 14:44:36 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1045910

registered interest
date	22/01/2019
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, if he will publish the level of reserves held by each local authority in (a) absolute terms and and (b) as a proportion of revenue spending at the end of each of the last three financial years.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
uin	211099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2019 answer text <p>MHCLG collects and publishes budget and outturn data from all local authorities annually. This published data allows anyone to see absolute reserves levels and to also calculate reserves as a proportion of revenue spending both at individual local authority and sector wide levels. The measure of reserves that is most commonly referred to is non ring-fenced reserves which can be found in cells 915 &amp; 916. The level of spend that is most commonly used is net service expenditure which can be found in cell 805. A web link to the GOV.UK website where this information is published is provided here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing</a>.</p><p><br> The Department also publishes a report alongside each data release that provides expenditure and reserves data at both a sector and class of local authority level. A web link to the report for the 2017/18 financial year is provided here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/756323/2017-18_RO_Final_Outturn_Statistical_Release.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/756323/2017-18_RO_Final_Outturn_Statistical_Release.pdf.</a></p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 28/01/2019 17:01:13 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

1046163

registered interest
date	22/01/2019
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, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the equitable allocation of funding to local authorities.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	211182
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 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. We are also looking at 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>We are making good progress in collaboration with the sector and recently launched a consultation exercise which will close on 21 February. Details of the consultation are available online:<br> <br> <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 24/01/2019 14:50:46 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1041455

registered interest
date	14/01/2019
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, what recent discussions has his Department has with the Local Government Association on funding for local authorities.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	David Simpson
uin	208274
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>I met representatives from the Local Government Association on 9 January to discuss the 2019-20 provisional local government final settlement. Departmental Ministers maintain regular engagement with the Local Government Association on a range of issues.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 21/01/2019 14:13:16 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1027358

registered interest
date	17/12/2018
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 Answer of 1 May 2018 to Question 138439 on Local Government Finance, which other determining factors his Department uses to determine the sustainability of local authorities on an (a) individual and (b) sectoral level.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	202782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2018 answer text <p>As part of my Department's responsibility for the overall sustainability of the local government finance system, the Department assesses the total amount of funding available to local government to deliver statutory responsibilities. The Department assesses this both top-down, looking at a macro level to see how much funding is in the system as a whole when set against cost drivers, demographics and opportunities for efficiencies; and bottom-up looking at financial indicators, overall capacity, leadership and governance for individual authorities. The Department’s overall judgement also considers whether there is flexibility in the system to respond to events, emergencies and to be able to provide the broader local leadership expected by communities.</p><p>Each Government Department has responsibility for establishing arrangements to ensure that services for which they have policy responsibility remain sustainable and that statutory responsibilities are being met. Local authorities are independent of central Government and are responsible for managing their financial budgets and for making spending decisions in line with their priority needs.</p> answering member constituency Rossendale and Darwen answering member printed Jake Berry question first answered 21/12/2018 14:30:34 answering member 4060 label Biography information for Sir Jake Berry previous answer version 93364 answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire answering member 1530
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne