Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to make levels of council tax equal in all local authority areas; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on councils with less ability to raise local revenue.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. This will reflect the service needs of each area having taken account of their other sources of income. It will also reflect historic council tax decisions taken by local authorities over several decades. The government maintains the referendum principles and authorities who choose to increase their council tax above this must obtain the approval of voters.
The Government remains committed to keeping all taxes and elements of the local government finance system under review. As part of the Fair Funding Review 2.0, for example, the government has consulted on proposals to fully account for how much different areas can raise from council tax within grant funding allocations.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will (a) reassess the application of the Remoteness Adjustment across all funding formulas, in the context of levels of supporting evidence and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of its application on a service-by-service basis.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.
The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department plans to provide to each local authority in each of the next three years.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.
The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what evidential basis his Department decided to continue using the remoteness adjustment within the area cost adjustment of proposed funding formulas.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.
The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what evidential basis his Department decided to end using the bespoke distribution method for the Recovery Grant.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.
The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to have a three-year transition period for the implementation of the fair funding settlement.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.
The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to retain the existing distribution method for the Recovery Grant.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.
The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.
We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the hydrogen technology manufacturing sector on (a) investment to the UK and (b) the growth in good jobs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The hydrogen sector is nascent but is expected to grow significantly; the global hydrogen market could exceed $1 trillion by 2050, with the UK well positioned to capture a substantial share.
We intend to publish a revised Hydrogen Strategy which will highlight the opportunities available to UK hydrogen technology manufacturers and set out plans to optimise the job creation and economic benefits delivered by the UK hydrogen economy.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders across the hydrogen value chain; working together with industry and unions to identify actions that support the skills and workforce needs of the UK’s future low carbon hydrogen economy.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the hydrogen technology manufacturing sector to export (a) goods and (b) services.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As a frontier Industrial Strategy sector, the government has committed targeted support to boost exports of hydrogen sector goods and services by showcasing UK capabilities through our global network, providing greater access to international supply chains and - as outlined in the Trade Strategy - by expanding clean energy sector agreements, like the UK-Germany Hydrogen Partnership.
To support these opportunities, the UK's export credit agency, UK Export Finance aims to deliver £10bn in clean growth financing by 2029, alongside options to support overseas sales, including loan guarantees for foreign buyers, and working capital, insurance and bond support products to assist UK suppliers.
Asked by: Sally Jameson (Labour (Co-op) - Doncaster Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage investment into the hydrogen technology manufacturing sector.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the Industrial Strategy's Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan the Government announced a public finance offer to crowd private investment into clean energy industries, including the UK's hydrogen economy. This includes: a £1bn Clean Energy supply chain fund; £5.8bn for the National Wealth Fund to invest across this Parliament in clean industries including low-carbon hydrogen; and a £4bn British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital scale and start up financing package.
My officials have been working closely with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero to showcase these opportunities for investment alongside UK world-class capability across the hydrogen sector.