Sarah Champion
Main Page: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Nick Boles
The hon. Lady is right that SUDs can offer a very effective way of dealing with flood risk. I am sure she will welcome, as I do, the fact that the latest figures show that the estimated number of dwellings built within areas of high flood risk in England is now at its lowest rate since records began in 1989.
Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)
6. What assessment he has made of the effects of the local government finance settlement on local authority services for families with young children.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)
Every part of the public sector has to do its bit to pay off Labour’s record deficit. We have been clear that councils should make sensible savings, and not take the lazy option of cutting front-line services. That is why we have protected the early intervention grant of £2.5 billion —up £100 million for 2014-15.
Sarah Champion
What does the Minister suggest that I say to my constituents who face an additional monthly bill of £160 for child care, following his local government finance cuts to Rotherham that are forcing Sure Starts to close?
Brandon Lewis
I would say to the hon. Lady that apart from the fact that, at the end of November 2013, there were 3,055 children’s centres and 501 additional sites open to families and children—providing children’s centre services as part of the network—local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that they have sufficient children’s centres to meet local need. It is quite right that she keeps the pressure on her council to be sensible about the savings it makes, and to make sure that it puts money into the right front-line services, and does not waste it in useless bureaucracy and management.