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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the additional administrative capacity required by local government to take on any new tax powers.

The government works closely with local government to identify the capacity implications of devolved powers. This includes the Overnight Visitor Levy where Strategic Authorities will be the tax authority responsible for the administration of the levy. Government will work closely with Strategic Authorities interested in using the power and will assess any financial implications in due course.

At the Local Government Finance Settlement, we confirmed a total of £99.6m of funding over the Spending Review period to support existing eligible Strategic Authorities’ staffing and administrative costs, and central corporate functions. Government will also set out further detail on support for MSA capacity and capability later this year building on the Rewiring the State Cabinet statement.