Oral Answers to Questions

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Government funding for local authorities in England.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Government funding for local authorities in England.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Luke Hall)]

Next year’s settlement for local government responds to the pressures facing councils by providing access to the largest year-on-year increase in spending power for a decade. Core spending power is expected to rise from £46.2 billion to £49.1 billion in 2020-21—an estimated 4.4% real-terms increase.

[Luke Hall]

Manchester City Council will receive a £30.9 million increase in the provisional settlement—a 7% rise that includes 17.6% in additional adult social care grant. Decisions on the future funding formula are to be taken in the weeks ahead, but we will release some provisional figures in the coming weeks for working groups to look at.

[Judith Cummins]

If the Government are to deliver on their commitment to the north, combined authorities must receive fair funding. The Government have promised to level up throughout the country, so will the Minister confirm that in any new devolution deal funding for West Yorkshire Combined Authority will match that of any other combined authority, such as Greater Manchester, on a per-head basis?

[Luke Hall]

Negotiations on the deal are ongoing, but we are optimistic. We can confirm that Bradford Council will receive an increase of £25.6 million in the settlement—a 6.4% real-terms rise in core spending power on last year.