Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a freeze on his Department's expenditure on the (a) provision of council services, (b) level council tax collected and (c) likelihood of section 114 notices being issued.

The Government published the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 on 18 December. It makes available up to £64.1 billion to local authorities in England. This is an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £3.9 billion or 6.5% in cash terms on 2023-24.

We are considering responses to a consultation on the Provisional Settlement, ahead of publishing the Final Settlement, which we will do very shortly. Once published, this will be subject to debate and the approval of the House.

Provision of local services, the level of council tax, and the issuing of s114 notices are all, ultimately, local matters for local authorities to decide for themselves. However, we stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances or faces pressures for which it has not planned.