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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to grant additional funding to local authorities to assist with (a) littering, (b) anti-social behaviour and (c) other issues that arise at transport hubs.

Government will outline proposals for distributing funding to local authorities in the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year. Government has a long-standing policy to provide grant funding to local government on a non-ringfenced basis as part of the commitment to greater localism. This policy provides greater funding flexibility to local authorities and supports them to make spending decisions based on their local needs and priorities.

On anti-social behaviour (ASB) specifically, the Government is committed to tackling and preventing ASB. We know the serious impact that persistent anti-social behaviour can have on both individuals and communities. In July the Beating Crime Plan laid out the Government's plan for tackling crime and its commitment to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the 2014 Act. That is why we provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.