Local Government Reorganisation

Debate between Lord Cryer and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Monday 7th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I will have a look at the chronology of the decision-making and talk to colleagues about it. Clearly, as I have said, very categorically, we will not be releasing the legal advice, but I appreciate that there is a chronology that takes account of the legal advice but does not divulge what it is. As to which aspects of the programme, I fear that that would be part of the privileged advice. We will look at any issues that have been raised as part of the programme of review. We will be clear and transparent about what we are doing in the review, so I hope that it will come out as part of the review process.

[Lord Cryer (Lab)]

M, my noble friend has talked about this to some extent, but can she assure the House that there will not be a wholesale return to the drawing board, as it were—in other words, that all that work will not be wasted? By that, I suppose I mean: does the Government’s commitment to devolution remain as strong as it has been for the past two years? Many of us feel that power has drained from municipalities to Whitehall for probably the past 50 years; we would like some of it to start going back to municipal centres.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I can reassure my noble friend that there is no drawing back on the programme of devolution. It is a very key part not just of government policy but of the Government’s vision for the country. For too long, we have had a very centralised model in this country. Many of the people in this room have been council leaders and will have been at the sticky end of that model. We do not want a begging-bowl culture where local councils have to go to Westminster for almost anything they want, whether a small power to do something or funding for an important local project. There is no rowing back from that at all. I am sure that noble Lords have heard enough from our new Prime Minister to know that his commitment to devolution has been strengthened by the years he spent as Mayor of Manchester, not weakened or diminished in any way. I know he is keen that we get that power and funding out to every postcode in the country, so that our country can achieve the potential we know it has—in every corner of the United Kingdom.

Birmingham: Waste Collection

Debate between Lord Cryer and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

That was more of a rant than a question, but I will answer it anyway. Workers have the right to make representations, and the council must take all its workforce into account, including the 7,000 women who historically were paid far less than their male counterparts for equivalent roles. Every council has had to do that, and it is right and proper that they do so. It has been an enormous exercise. In my own council it took nearly three years to work through the process, but I was happy to do it. It is absolutely right that people doing equal work deserve equal pay.

[Lord Cryer (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister touched repeatedly on the original cause of the dispute, which is equal pay. Did she say 7,000 women were assessed as being underpaid? On that basis, what is the cost of the compensation to those employees?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The costs are included in the issues that Birmingham is facing overall. We are working with the council on options to address those costs. The commissioners in Birmingham have been working very hard to do that. The additional £131 million funding we put into Birmingham this year will help to address some of the deficit it has faced recently. In fact, we included in our funding for Birmingham a new one-off recovery grant of £39.3 million, which shows our commitment to correcting unfairness in the funding system. We also put in place an in-principle agreement to exceptional financial support totalling £1.24 billion across the country. We are helping Birmingham with its financial issues, but they are of long standing. The overall funding formula we have been looking at as we go into the spending review across the country does not deliver funding in a way that delivers the best funding settlement to where the most need is. That is something we will have to address going forward.