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Whole Day Download the Hansard Monday Volume 669 13 January 2020 No. 8 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Monday 13 January 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 731 13 JANUARY 2020 732 for homeless people from the wider region. What guarantees House of Commons can the Minister give that those pressures will be reflected properly in the new funding formula? Monday 13 January 2020 Luke Hall: Manchester City Council will receive a £30.9 million increase in the provisional settlement—a The House met at half-past Two o’clock 7% rise that includes 17.6% in additional adult social care grant. Decisions on the future funding formula are PRAYERS to be taken in the weeks ahead, but we will release some provisional figures in the coming weeks for working groups to look at. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] Judith Cummins: If the Government are to deliver on BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS their commitment to the north, combined authorities must receive fair funding. The Government have promised SESSIONAL RETURNS to level up throughout the country, so will the Minister Ordered, confirm that in any new devolution deal funding for That there be laid before this House Returns for Session 2019 West Yorkshire Combined Authority will match that of of information and statistics relating to: any other combined authority,such as Greater Manchester, (1) Business of the House on a per-head basis? (2) Closure of Debate, Proposal of Question and Allocation of Time (including Programme Motions) Luke Hall: Negotiations on the deal are ongoing, but (3) Sittings of the House we are optimistic about the future. We can confirm that (4) Private Bills and Private Business Bradford Council will receive an increase of £25.6 million in the settlement—a 6.4% real-terms rise in core spending (5) Public Bills power on last year. (6) Delegated Legislation and Legislative Reform Orders (7) European Legislation, etc Greg Hands (Chelsea and Fulham) (Con): One local (8) Grand Committees government problem that is becoming more expensive is (9) Panel of Chairs the repair and reopening of Hammersmith bridge. On (10) Select Committees.—(The Chairman of Ways and Means.) that and the reopening of Harwood Terrace, will my hon. Friend tell the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to get on with it so that we can get traffic Oral Answers to Questions moving again in west London? Will my hon. Friend or the Secretary of State agree to meet me to discuss the matter? HOUSING, COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL Luke Hall: My right hon. Friend has been working GOVERNMENT hard on this issue on behalf of his constituents, and I am happy to meet him to discuss it in the weeks ahead. The Secretary of State was asked— Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con): May I welcome the Local Government Finance real-terms increase for local authorities over the next two years, which is the result of our balanced approach 1. Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab): What to the economy? Will my hon. Friend update the House recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of on the steps his Department is taking to make councils Government funding for local authorities in England. more efficient? [900100] Luke Hall: May I welcome my hon. Friend to his 13. Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab): What place in the House? He is already looking to be a recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of champion for his community. We are of course working Government funding for local authorities in England. with local authorities to make sure that they can become [900113] more efficient, especially in respect of digital transformation. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, My hon. Friend’s local authority and those throughout Communities and Local Government (Luke Hall): Next the country will have access in the coming year to the year’s settlement for local government responds to the 4.4% real-terms rise in core spending power. pressures facing councils by providing access to the largest year-on-year increase in spending power for a Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab): Happy decade. Core spending power is expected to rise from new year to you, Mr Speaker. £46.2 billion to £49.1 billion in 2020-21—an estimated It is 173 days—almost 25 weeks or almost six months— 4.4% real-terms increase. since the Secretary of State was appointed, so it is nice that we finally have local government questions. With Jeff Smith: Big-city authorities such as Manchester local government in crisis, children’s services, which are have been hit hardest by the cuts at the same time as included in that, are also in crisis. According to the they have had to deal with the extra costs of deprivation, Tory-led Local Government Association, the number of such as high demand on social care budgets, poor children in care is up 28%, child protection plans are up health, and homelessness, with big cities being magnets 53%, and there has been a staggering 139% increase in 733 Oral Answers 13 JANUARY 2020 Oral Answers 734 serious cases. With the funding gap growing to £3.1 billion Robert Jenrick: I would be very happy to meet the by 2025, sticking plasters will not do, so will the Minister hon. Gentleman. The recommendations of the commission now commit finally to fix this crisis and ensure that his that we will publish shortly speak to all forms of housing, Chancellor fully funds children’s services in future? including co-operative housing and social housing, where, of course, there have been some fantastic examples of Luke Hall: This is the best provisional local government good quality design, not least the RIBA award-winning settlement for almost 10 years: a 4.4% rise in real-terms new social homes in Norwich. funding and a £2.9 billion increase in local government spending. We propose to allow local authorities to set Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con): The council tax increases of up to 2%, and another 2% for question refers to simplifying the planning system, but adult social care. It is a positive settlement and I hope one of its many complications is that there is no standard the hon. Gentleman will support it in the weeks ahead. methodology for calculating five-year land supply. Will the Government look at this and please address the Building Better, Building Beautiful problem pretty quickly? 2. Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con): What Robert Jenrick: We will be giving that further thought. steps he is taking to simplify the planning system and The Government are committed to bringing forward a implement the Government’s Building Better, Building new White Paper on planning reform. I will work closely Beautiful initiative. [900101] with the Chancellor to draw up those proposals, and I would be very happy to speak with my hon. Friend and take his views as we do so. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Robert Jenrick): We want a planning system that encourages beautiful development, guards John Healey (Wentworth and Dearne) (Lab): May I against ugliness and is based on stewardship and place- welcome the Secretary of State back? Given the turnover making. That is why we convened the Building Better, of Housing Ministers, I trust that his first oral questions Building Beautiful Commission, which submitted its report in the post will not also be his last. The Conservatives’ to me in December. failure on planning is at the heart of their failure on housing. Their permitted development loophole lets May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the developers sidestep the planning rules and build modern-day commission’s co-chair, Sir Roger Scruton, who died slum housing. It has been in place for four years now, so yesterday? Sir Roger was an intellectual giant, a brilliant can he say whether the number of new affordable homes writer and a fearless fighter for freedom, not least in being built has gone up or down directly as a result of eastern Europe, and he made a unique contribution to this planning change? public life. Mrs Latham: I thank the Secretary of State for that Robert Jenrick: May I thank the right hon. Gentleman answer, and I associate myself with his remarks about for his remarks? Permitted development rights are subject Sir Roger Scruton. to a review, and we have consulted stakeholders. He is right to say that there are some examples of poor Will the Secretary of State confirm whether he will practice, and I will carefully consider the information implement the Letwin review and whether his Department we have received before coming forward with proposals. plans to capture development value to fund infrastructure Those rights have led to a large number of net additions as well as encourage sustainable building with very that would not otherwise have been brought forward. high-quality design? Will he meet me and a delegation That is important, and it is a contributing factor to the from the Academy of Urbanism to discuss these ideas? fact that, last year, we delivered more homes than any other for 30 years. Therefore, the planning reforms Robert Jenrick: I thank my hon. Friend for her question. taken forward by my predecessors, which I will take We are currently reviewing the recommendations of the forward with my new White Paper, have contributed to commission and I shall respond in due course. I would getting the homes built in this country that we desperately be very happy to meet her and representatives from the need.
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