Changing Places Toilets

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to open this debate on a subject that I care deeply about. Last Saturday, 19 July, was Changing Places Awareness Day. It is therefore an honour to have secured this debate and to be able to pay tribute to the campaign organisation Changing Places in its 20th year, and in a week when it has worked to remind the nation of the importance of its campaign. During this time, it has worked relentlessly to seek provision for the quarter of a million people in the UK who have for so long had no public access to accessible toilet facilities, and for their families and carers.

Changing Places toilets enable anyone, regardless of their disability, to go to the shops, attend hospital appointments, enjoy community life, socialise and travel. Many of us in this place and, indeed, across the UK take this basic necessity and right for granted every day.

[David Williams (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)]

My friend Denise Deakin campaigned to get more Changing Places toilets 20 years ago, so it would be remiss of me not to mention her in this debate. Over the weekend, I spoke to Faye from Talke and Jane from Burslem, in my constituency, and they told me that the difference such toilets make is life-changing. One said, “For me and my family, it’s the difference between living your life or closing down your world.” Does my hon. Friend agree that we have to do all we can to enhance and get more of these facilities across the whole of the country?

[Daniel Francis]

Absolutely. As I will turn to, I know that at first hand as the parent of a child with cerebral palsy. The growth of Changing Places means that it is making an impact, but the fact is that we need more of these toilets across the country.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward this debate. I spoke to him beforehand to get an idea of what he was trying to achieve, and I want to congratulate him on his campaign—well done! Every one of us in our constituency wishes we had someone pushing as hard as he is with his campaign. I say that because in Northern Ireland we have only 1.4 Changing Places toilets per 100,000 people, which means we rank the second lowest in the UK after London. The hon. Gentleman is doing so much here, and we have a lot to learn. Some 7,000 people in Northern Ireland require additional room for assistance and support when using public restroom facilities. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, given that this issue impacts thousands across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, we must ensure that enough Changing Places toilets are provided in all nations for all people with disabilities?

[Daniel Francis]

Absolutely, and I thank the hon. Member. As I will come on to say, we have seen such growth, particularly in central London, but that needs to be replicated across the United Kingdom.

Access to a Changing Places toilet allows anyone, regardless of their access needs or disability, to use a toilet with dignity, privacy and hygienically.

[Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that accessible toilets keep people out longer, encourage spending, make towns more inclusive, and are critical for retail, tourism and local growth? When councils close them, disabled people and young families just stay at home. Does he agree that it is short-sighted of the Conservative council in North Warwickshire to fail to fulfil its promise to reopen accessible toilets in Atherstone town centre? We need more Changing Places toilets up and down this country so that everyone, regardless of their ability or who their children are, can make the most of their days out.

[Daniel Francis]

Absolutely, and I thank my hon. Friend for those comments. Again, I will come on to talk about a toilet that was closed in my own constituency and the impact that has. I will try to make some progress for a moment.

Changing Places toilets are specifically designed for people with profound and multiple disabilities and their carers, who need more space and equipment than a standard accessible toilet provides. The features include height-adjustable adult-sized changing benches, ceiling track hoists and space for multiple carers, ensuring a safe and dignified experience.

The Changing Places consortium was established 20 years ago, as I have said, and at the heart of its campaign, which was initiated by the late Loretto Lambe, the founder and chief executive of PAMIS—Promoting a More Inclusive Society—was the aim to ensure the growth of Changing Places across the country. I wish to pay tribute to the work of Changing Places staff and volunteers, led by Jenny Miller and Karen Hoe, and their vital support in ensuring this debate could be brought to the House.

Currently, the total number of active and registered Changing Places toilets is 2,609 spanning the UK and servicing leisure centres, city and town centres, shopping centres, venues, hospitals, transport hubs, stadiums and attractions. Last year, 414 new Changing Places were installed across the UK, the highest number of annual registrations ever.

[Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)]

I want to add a personal note of thanks to my hon. Friend for being such an outstanding advocate for families such as ours. We share a strong union on that point. Does he agree that it is not enough just to have a Changing Places facility, because it is also important for staff in those areas to have had training so that they know how to direct people to it? I reflected on that the other weekend when we went to a splash park, having seen that it has a Changing Places facility, which was amazing. However, when we asked the person opening the café, who allowed us to go in, how we could access the Changing Places facility, they just did not know, which made it inaccessible. Does he agree that it is so important that training is given to staff where there is a Changing Places facility, so that they can adequately direct people to it?

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Francis]

I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend. We work very closely together on these issues, as parents of disabled children. I will turn to such training in relation to some of my own horror stories in due course.

In May, PAMIS announced that it is updating its Changing Places practical guidance, a resource that helps support the design and management of Changing Places toilets. I think I missed out that there were 799 toilets 10 years ago, so there has been significant growth since that time.

I should also note the changes made by the previous Government when they amended the Building Regulations 2010, under which it is now compulsory for some new large buildings to have Changing Places toilets installed in them. In addition, a Changing Places toilets fund of £30.5 million was made available in 2023, which has provided 600 Changing Places across England.

I have seen the real impact that that growth has had in London and the home counties as a south-east London MP. I see that now in central London, as compared with 10 years ago, in train stations, at cultural venues, along the South Bank and, very recently, in Oxford Street. The Need2Change campaign, spearheaded by Bromley resident Katrina O’Leary who I worked with before I was elected to this place, has allowed an increase in toilets in parks, hospitals and coastal towns to ensure her family, my family and other families can have the days out that others take for granted.

[Adam Jogee (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and I congratulate him on securing this important debate. It is typically human-focused, compassionate and decent, which sums him up in every way. Will he join me in highlighting the current Changing Places toilets in Newcastle-under-Lyme at Keele services on the M6 southbound, Morrisons, the Jubilee 2 gym and sports centre, and our local library? That is four, but we need many more and government has an important role to play in making that happen.

[Daniel Francis]

I thank my hon. Friend. I absolutely agree. We have seen that growth, but we need to see more.

[Sarah Russell (Congleton) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. I am very sad to report that there are no Changing Places toilets in my constituency on the website—not a single one. I believe that, actually, Congleton leisure centre does have a Changing Places toilet, and I believe that Ruby’s Fund also has a very extensive disabled-facilitated toilet, although not to Changing Places standard. Does he agree that, when I have a constituency of 90,000 people, with four towns and multiple villages, that is an appalling state of affairs and we need to do better?

[Daniel Francis]

I thank my hon. Friend. I am happy to work with her and her local authority to bring sites forward.

I will now talk about my own family’s experience and, in particular, about education. I fully accept that not every disability is visible. Many people who may appear not to have a disability do require a Changing Places toilet, for instance if they have a colostomy bag and require extra space for toileting. For those who need a Changing Places toilet, the current system can be very frustrating. The main way of finding where one is located is through the excellent search location tool and map—this was just referred to—on the Changing Places website. There is a separate app, but it is not run by Changing Places—it is run by a third party—and so is not as up to date. The information on the Changing Places website can only be up to date if the provider of the toilet advises of any changes in availability.

I could give a litany of experiences, as could my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft), of where things have sadly not worked. One of our daughters has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She is a wheelchair user. She is unable to tell you when she needs the toilet and is still in nappies at almost 12 years of age. Given her height and weight, a changing bed is essential to change her with dignity. Before we were aware of the Changing Places website, we sadly had the indignity of changing her in a variety of places, such as on a bench or behind a bush to try to give her some dignity. Our fallback today remains the floor of our wheelchair-accessible van, which I can assure you is a backbreaker. Since we have been aware of the Changing Places map facility, we plan our days out, trips and travel arrangements around it and where we believe there will be a toilet. It has been a life changer for our family and, as we have heard, for other families.

There are occasions where, because the information has not been updated or because of a lack of training on what Changing Places toilets are, we have had some experiences that have been not so great: finding that the only Changing Places toilet in the place you are visiting has been closed because it is vandalised; finding that the Changing Places toilet in a building is not available, as it is being used as a storage cupboard; having a council staff member refuse someone, who clearly cannot walk and is clearly in nappies, access to the Changing Places toilet on the grounds that they are a child and should therefore use a baby changing table, even when it is clear that their height, and particularly their weight, would break the table; finding, because it is winter, that the council has closed the toilet entirely or, when visiting a busy coastal city, that it closes at 4 pm—because clearly disabled people do not need to use the toilet after 4 pm!

I have seen some terrible training of staff in train stations and in public buildings, where they do not understand what a Changing Places toilet is. On numerous occasions, I have been told that because my daughter is a wheelchair user she should use the standard disabled toilet, with no understanding that she cannot stand and there is no hoist in a standard disabled toilet, and that if someone uses nappies, you might need a bed to change them. There was one occasion in a central London train station when a toilet attendant made everyone, regardless of which toilet they required, join one queue because their objective was reducing the queue length, rather than ensuring that the people who were able to use the only toilet available to them, did so. As we stood patiently at about number 50 in the queue, 49 people in front of us who did not need the Changing Places toilet were, in turn, directed to it. There are, however, some fantastic instances of staff ensuring that those trying to use these toilets as a baby changing room—which happens a lot—do not do so, and examples of fantastic signage explaining what a Changing Places toilet is intended for.

Along with the people who believe a Changing Places toilet is, in fact, a large baby changing facility, one other issue that can cause problems is the easy availability of RADAR keys, which are often purchased on the internet or in high street shops. I am afraid that some people do buy them as a way of skipping toilet queues.

In a number of places, including in Bexleyheath town centre in my constituency, the use of a RADAR key has led to people sleeping on the changing bed, and someone moving themselves and all their belongings into the toilet. My council took the decision to close the toilet because of the repeated damage caused by the person who kept moving into it, although I would argue that the council was clearly not maintaining it adequately, given that someone had been living in it for several weeks before my own wife discovered that they were living there.

Those issues persist, and we therefore need to have a conversation about training, about spreading best practice on signage and about different entry systems, which a number of Changing Places toilets now have. Those things would greatly reduce the stress for those who genuinely need a Changing Places toilet.

[Jen Craft]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Daniel Francis]

Very quickly—you have had your go already. [Laughter.]

[Jen Craft]

I very much appreciate my hon. Friend giving way again. Does he agree that when you go somewhere and you are unable to access adequate facilities to change your child, the message that is sent to you and your family is, “You are not welcome here. We do not want you.”? Conversely, when you go somewhere that has a Changing Places facility, you feel welcomed and part of the community.

[Daniel Francis]

That is absolutely the case. We will visit the same places for days out and we know our routine in central London, because we know where we will be welcomed and where we have had those bad experiences, which I have mentioned.

We do, of course, also need to consider this place. We have a Changing Places toilet in the Lower Waiting Hall, which is of the very old, original standard. It is therefore difficult to hoist somebody on to the bed, given how low the ceiling is. There is, however, no facility for visitors to Portcullis House, which is something we need to consider going forward.

In my constituency, there is one Changing Places toilet, located in the Broadway shopping centre, but we need more. Hall Place would be a fantastic place to have one, given that it is the premier cultural attraction and open space in my constituency.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

There are four Changing Places toilets in my constituency, which, given that it is one of England’s largest constituencies, still feels very inadequate. Does my hon. Friend agree that one sector where we would definitely benefit from more Changing Places toilets is in our visitor attractions? Does he support my call for English Heritage to increase the number of Changing Places facilities on its estate?

[Daniel Francis]

I absolutely agree. As my hon. Friend says, I am pretty sure that there are some in her constituency, but we do need to expand that. Having those facilities on the south bank has made such an impact culturally, I can tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

[Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)]

We have just two Changing Places toilets in my constituency, which is semi-rural and quite large. One is at Elvaston castle country park, so I ask my hon. Friend to put that on his list of places to come and visit. I opened my constituency office only once I had a disabled access toilet, but it just feels like such a halfway house. Does my hon. Friend agree that two Changing Places toilets for a constituency as large as South Derbyshire is far from adequate?

[Daniel Francis]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who has one more than me in her constituency. We do need to expand the number that we have.

I recently met members of my local Bexley Mencap, who raised with me the need for a Changing Places toilet in one of my borough’s swimming pools. We have three swimming pools in my local authority area, and it can be very difficult for members to change themselves.

However, campaigning can work. For many years, I have questioned the rationale of Eurotunnel LeShuttle having a Changing Places toilet in Folkestone but not having one for the very same customers in Calais. I accept that Changing Places toilets are very uncommon in France—in fact, I could count them on one hand. However, after many years of being told that one could not be provided in Calais, I have been advised in the past month that one will be supplied, although Eurotunnel is being vague about the installation date. Those customers will now finally be able to use a Changing Places toilet on both legs of their journey.

I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) wanted to be here to pay tribute to her constituent Zack Kerr, from Oswaldtwistle, who has been campaigning for additional Changing Places facilities since 2017. Zack has cerebral palsy and, because of his first-hand experience, has been instrumental in the building of 54 new toilets across motorway service stations in England.

My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) relayed to me that the changing places toilet in Bingley town centre has been a life-changer. It is really well maintained and is cleaned twice a day, which can be important for children with complex conditions who are susceptible to infections. With twice-daily cleaning it is also much less likely that somebody will move in there for several weeks.

I continue to aspire to see a national disability travel app that shows accessible train stations and interchanges, and flags up when lifts are out of order and where there is a Changing Places toilet. We must ensure that we do what we can to expand the provision of accessible toilets, particularly Changing Places toilets, to public buildings, parks and community facilities.

I am very grateful to hon. Members for their contributions this afternoon. I encourage them to engage with their local authorities and stakeholder groups, and impress on them the importance of Changing Places toilets so that all our constituents can have access to a clean, safe and accessible facility. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I wish you a very happy summer recess.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

I start by paying tribute to officers and councillors in the London borough of Bexley for all they do. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) for securing today’s debate. For the record, my wife is employed by our local authority as a special educational needs co-ordinator in a local authority school.

I will briefly touch on three things. First, I welcome the record investment in housing, but I remain deeply disappointed that my Conservative-controlled council sold off its housing stock 26 years ago, has no housing revenue account and, through its own development company, has built 126 homes on three sites and has not supplied a single affordable home on any of those sites. The council has used viability assessments to argue that it cannot build affordable homes. In the housing plans that come forward, I hope we can find ways for my local authority to begin to deliver the affordable homes that we desperately need. Hopefully, that will be through the election of a Labour council next year, but we will wait and see—it has been a long time since we have had one in my patch. My local authority is complaining about the ever-dwindling stock of private rented properties that it can purchase, but it needs to turn its attention to the moneys coming forward so that it can finally deliver affordable homes.

Secondly, on local government funding, my council cut 15% of its staff in 2021. It had to sell a building in order to issue redundancy notices and, at the same time, had to come to the previous Government for a capitalisation order. We hear fantasy economics from the Opposition, but let us be clear: the cuts that were made to local authorities happened under a Conservative council and a Conservative Government in my patch. I hope that the fair funding review will lead to some investment, and I know that my council is lobbying hard. There have been demographic changes in my patch, and I hope that we begin to see some investment in local services.

Lastly, as I mentioned in the education debate—and, again, we have heard it before—we need guarantees about the safety valve that will be ending next March. My council did sign a safety valve agreement, but it continues to overspend, despite the commitments my Conservative council made to the previous Conservative Government, and that is a ticking time bomb for my council. On those points of how we can invest in housing, begin to have a fair funding review and look at the safety valve hanging over my council, I would welcome the Minister’s comments.

Residential Estate Management Companies

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing the debate.

My constituents at Vickers Green in Crayford have experienced similar problems to other constituents. The Conservative council granted their Barratt Homes development, consisting of 247 homes, planning permission in 2009. The local planning committee’s report confirms that management of

“the estate roads, the communal areas, the play facility, the ecological area, the open space area etc”

will technically be the responsibility of the homeowners. It also confirms that the construction and maintenance of internal roads and parking areas, although not carried out by the council, will need to be carried out “to the Council’s satisfaction.” That has caused real problems for my constituents, who are paying their council tax but also having to pay charges for these things.

More recently, my constituents found that FirstPort is their management agent. This year it informed them that there was a £44,000 overspend in 2022, which they are now expected to pick up, in 2025. One constituent was told they had to pay charges for the two months before they moved into their property. Many residents have also seen the £600 charge for picking up responsibility for the communal areas and roads more than double in recent years, and they feel there is a gross unfairness in that.

I therefore welcome the Government’s planned changes. I would also welcome comments from my hon. Friend the Minister about what the Government propose to do to protect leaseholders from the kinds of abuse and poor service they have experienced, and about how some of these communal areas, which would traditionally be maintained by local authorities, might be returned to them, rather than being the responsibility of FirstPort, and therefore of homeowners themselves.

Local Government Finances: London

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I need to say at the outset that my wife is employed as a SEND co-ordinator in the London borough of Bexley.

I was a councillor in Bexley for 20 years, including 10 years under the last Labour Government. I hear what the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune) says, but I assure him that we had a very different funding arrangement then—my local authority was not in the position it now is. The hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French) is no longer in his place, but he was the deputy leader on the council and I the leader of the opposition when we faced our funding crisis back in 2021. That funding crisis continues to this day.

In our council, reserves have been used to balance the budget for years. That includes the £5 million we needed to balance the budget in the 2018 council election year. Things became worse in 2021, when the council applied for its capitalisation order. It made 15% of staff redundant and had to sell a building for £9 million to fund the redundancy costs. In the period from 2010 to 2015, Bexley went from having the 10th most expensive council tax in London to the 8th most expensive.

At my election speech last year, I pledged to work tirelessly with my Conservative-controlled local authority to deliver for local people and businesses, and I am here on their behalf to make some key pledges about the pressures they face and the pressures we have heard about today.

First, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) said, we face the matter of the fair funding settlement. Demographic changes in outer London and inner London mean that the borough I was first elected to represent on the council 25 years ago is a very different borough today. Parts of my constituency, such as Slade Green and Northumberland Heath, are very different, demographically and in terms of poverty, from how they were then. My council’s position is that council tax should not be a primary driver of increased core spending power, and that we should simplify the assessments and reduce the number of relative needs formulae.

Then there is the public health grant. I have sat there, through budget after budget, as either leader of the opposition or the opposition finance spokesperson, listening to the Conservative leader, Baroness O’Neill, saying that the public health grant for Bexley is the second lowest in London. I am pleased—in fact, I am proud—that, under a Labour Government, Bexley this year has had the sixth-highest public health increase of all the boroughs, but clearly that position remains, and our public health grant remains too low. As I have said, our finances remain in a very difficult position, with a £32 million budget gap next year, which needs to be addressed.

Most worrying is our safety valve agreement. Our safety valve agreement was signed because of the significant overspends in special educational needs, but that will expire next year. We are not currently on course to achieve the requirements in the safety valve agreement and the statutory override. There is potentially £12.8 million at risk. As I have continually said to the Government, we clearly need to resolve that to protect some of our most vulnerable children in next year’s budget, but also residents and businesses across the London borough of Bexley.

Local Government Reorganisation

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jim McMahon]

It is important that the Government set out the framework. We were very directive in the White Paper about our view on reorganisation and devolution. In every conversation we had with the LGA, the County Councils Network, the District Councils Network and others, we heard that the worst outcome would be the White Paper speaking to an issue without going close to clarifying what outcome we want. The response to the priority programme has been reflective of that clear direction.

We were up front in saying that, for efficiency, new unitary authorities should have a population of around 500,000, but we also made it clear that if the reorganisation went hand in hand with devolution, a degree of flexibility would be needed to make sure we balanced strategic oversight of the combined or strategic authority with the local identity and sense of belonging that people need. I also make it clear that it does not matter whether we are talking about councils going through reorganisation, or about existing councils and metropolitan authorities, be they in London or the north of England. Wherever they are, we expect councils to organise their neighbourhoods and communities, local public services and democratic engagement so that people feel more power in the place where they live.

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

My residents in Crayford, in the London borough of Bexley, have their services provided by one council, but in many cases, residents on the same road have their services provided by two councils—by Kent county council and Dartford borough council—which causes confusion, as the Minister said. Does he agree that the changes introduced in the English devolution Bill will make local government more effective and save money for those taxpayers?

[Jim McMahon]

That is exactly what this is about. This is the most ambitious reorganisation in England for at least 50 years, maybe longer. We need to avoid the sense that this is just rearranging the local government deckchairs. It is not about that. The devolution White Paper is ambitious, and that ambition is about wresting power from Westminster and Parliament and putting it in the hands of communities up and down the country. For far too long, power has been held in a very narrow way by a handful of people, at the exclusion of millions of people in this country. Frankly, people have had enough, so we have to find a different route.

Parking: Town Centres

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sonia Kumar]

I agree 100% with my hon. Friend, whose opinions I really respect. Parking charges have become a cash cow. It is absolutely absurd that councils across the country, including Dudley council, have implemented them.

We need to think about how to drive footfall, not reduce it, in our town centres. I feel like we are robbing Peter so Paul can cut a ribbon. Clearly, there is a fair balance to be struck between generating revenue through parking charges and ensuring the vibrancy and accessibility of town centres, but too many authorities are not getting that balance right.

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. In the Northumberland Heath ward in my constituency, Councillors Baljit Gill and Wendy Perfect have been working tirelessly to support local traders who would like to introduce free parking for a very short period for the small range of independent shops in Northumberland Heath. Does she agree that councils should investigate measures to reduce parking fines and also consider free short-term parking arrangements to support, as she put it, the viability of such small independent traders?

[Sonia Kumar]

Yes, I do, and a long-standing trader in my constituency, Christine Bosworth, also agrees. She has been operating for the last 13 years in a craft shop and she shared with me some really poignant points that I would like to share. Christine said that there has been a really big drop in footfall in the constituency and in the town centre, and that it is an “eye-opener” that there now is a lack of accessibility to the town centre. The nearest car park is unusable and too expensive, while cheaper options are too far away for elderly and disabled people to use. Traders tied into long leases face mounting pressures to ensure that people can access the town centre.

Changes have been made without proper consultation and risk further eroding the vibrancy of our historic town centre. Bruno Coppola, manager of the Churchill shopping centre in Dudley, has shared concerns with me about the impact that the charges have on local businesses. Many traders have faced challenges for many years, including with covid-19.

Council Tax

Daniel Francis Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Pennycook]

I have been a local councillor, as have many Members of this House. The hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds) has been a council leader, so he will know what has happened to the system over the past 14 years. The Opposition continue to claim that there is a multibillion-pound black hole in local council budgets. When asked how they would fix it, however, they said, “It’s not for us to do; we’re in opposition. It’s for the Government.” It is a classic policy of having no plan to fix the mess. They have provided no clarity on their position on thresholds, and failed to take responsibility for what they did over 14 years in government.

[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

My Conservative-controlled council in the London borough of Bexley had to apply for a capitalisation order three years ago and make 15% of our staff redundant. Despite that, it still overspent its budget every month for over two years, and is currently overspending on the safety valve agreement made with the previous Government. In addition, the Conservative leader of the council, in responding to a question from me last year, accepted that she was part of the LGA Conservative group executive that published a manifesto last year asking their own Government to remove caps on council tax. Given that, does my hon. Friend agree that it is rank hypocrisy for the Conservative party to complain now about black holes in council finances?

[Matthew Pennycook]

I absolutely do, and the Government are determined to extract from the Opposition some clarity on their position on thresholds. Do they agree with the LGA Conservative group, which has called for the caps on council tax to be removed? Do they want those caps to be reduced? We are still none the wiser. Hopefully, we can find out in the weeks and months to come.