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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of base budget pressures on local authority budgets.

The Spending Review settlement for local government considered a wide range of unit cost pressures, including inflation and public sector pay. The Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. We are providing an additional £1.6 billion of grant funding to councils in each of the next 3 years, from 2022/23 inclusive. This new funding is the largest cash-terms increase in grant funding for 10 years.

The Department continues to work closely with local councils to understand the impact of macro-economic changes.

We stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to balance its budgets. We also work closely with CIPFA, who have encouraged local authorities to contact the Department in the first instance to discuss any immediate financial concerns.