Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with Brighton and Hove City Council on the external auditor’s report findings on (a) the risk of a Section 114 notice being issued and (b) demand for statutory services.

In the multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government made available a Core Spending Power increase for Brighton of 14.2% between 2024-25 and 2028-29, worth £47.6m – coming good on our promise of reforming the funding system.

We know that recovering from the legacy of the local government finance system overseen by previous governments will take time. On 23 February, this government announced £15m of in-principle Exceptional Financial Support for Brighton and Hove City Council. The department continues to engage with the council on a confidential basis to support them to transform their services.