Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the long-term financial effects on local authorities in (a) the South West and (b) other areas of the England with low rates of covid-19 deaths of a potentially delayed peak in covid-19 cases in those areas compared to other areas of England.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities through an un-ringfenced grant so they can address pressures they are facing in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Local authorities in the South West of England have received £316 million of this funding.
The package recognises the additional costs and pressures on finances councils are facing as a result of the current crisis. It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to making sure councils have the resources they need to support their communities through this challenging time.
We will continue to work with local government and their representatives to ensure they are managing the pandemic.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of whether the per capita methodology that is used to allocate emergency funding to local authorities accurately reflects the costs incurred by local authorities in responding to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
MHCLG continues to work closely with local authorities to manage the impacts of Covid-19 on our society.
The Government has made £3.2 billion available to councils in England through unringfenced grant so they can address pressures they are facing in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first wave of £1.6 billion of funding, announced on 19 March, was primarily allocated through the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula, in recognition that the greatest immediate pressures would fall on local authorities with social care responsibilities. The second wave of £1.6 billion of funding, the allocations for which were announced on 28 April, was allocated on a per capita basis. This reflects our latest understanding of the distribution of additional Covid-related pressures, which are likely to be distributed in a way that is different from pre-existing needs.
It is important that these two waves of funding are seen together and that false comparisons between the two are avoided. Across both waves, more than 90 per cent of the funding will go to social care authorities.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the deadlines for when expenditure needs to be incurred on (a) Housing Infrastructure Fund, (b) Local Growth Fund and (c) Transforming Cities Fund projects to enable local authorities to re-adjust after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The inevitable pressures caused by Covid-19 are impacting on the delivery of capital programmes. At this difficult time we recognise the need to take a pragmatic approach, supporting partners to enable continued delivery of these vital programmes where possible to stimulate the economy.
Government is working closely with relevant partners to better understand the impact on delivery across a number of programmes. We will review what further support or flexibility may be needed based on the outcome of those conversations.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the new Code of Practice for parking in England, Wales, and Scotland.
Answered by Luke Hall
The government is committed to developing and implementing the Code of Practice as soon as possible. We are currently considering the options for the delivery of the Code and the design of the levy on industry, as well as the format for stakeholder engagement. We will make an announcement in due course. We are also committed to carrying out a public consultation on the draft Code of Practice, allowing all interested parties to directly respond to the proposals.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect of recent changes to government funding to Bristol City Council on local council services in Bristol South constituency.
Answered by Marcus Jones
On 15 December we announced the second year of a four year settlement, which will provide Bristol City Council with over £1.3 billion to spend on local services between 2016-17 and 2019-20. As a democratically elected organisation, Bristol City Council is independent of central government and is responsible for managing its budget in line with local priorities. We are giving the council the funding it needs to plan responsibly.