Vol. 757 Tuesday No. 58 18 November 2014 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions Local Authorities: Funding ..........................................................................................367 Strategic Defence and Security Review .......................................................................369 Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ........................................................371 Adoption ........................................................................................................................374 Childcare Payments Bill First Reading..................................................................................................................376 Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill Committee.......................................................................................................................377 Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Conversion of Civil Partnership) Regulations 2014 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (Consequential and Contrary Provisions and Scotland) and Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2014 Consular Marriages and Marriages under Foreign Law (No. 2) Order 2014 Motions to Approve .......................................................................................................430 Grand Committee Deregulation Bill Committee (7th Day)............................................................................................GC 107 Written Statements......................................................................................................WS 11 Written Answers ...........................................................................................................WA 93 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldhansrd/index/141118.html PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAILY PARTS Single copies: Commons, £5; Lords £4 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £865; Lords £600 LORDS VOLUME INDEX obtainable on standing order only. Details available on request. BOUND VOLUMES OF DEBATES are issued periodically during the session. Single copies: Commons, £105; Lords, £60 (£100 for a two-volume edition). Standing orders will be accepted. THE INDEX to each Bound Volume of House of Commons Debates is published separately at £9·00 and can be supplied to standing order. All prices are inclusive of postage. The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative Con Ind Conservative Independent DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Lab Labour Lab Ind Labour Independent LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2014, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 367 Local Authorities: Funding[18 NOVEMBER 2014] Local Authorities: Funding 368 public sector as a whole. Does the Minister agree that House of Lords this is a compelling reason to devolve more power to local areas? Tuesday, 18 November 2014. Baroness Williams of Trafford: I certainly do, my 2.30 pm Lords. I want at this point to congratulate councils in Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Worcester. Greater Manchester, where I was formerly one of the leaders, not only on the steps that they have taken during the past 30 years in doing just that but on the Local Authorities: Funding confidence that the Government have placed in them Question in devolving power and funding to them. 2.36 pm Baroness Wall of New Barnet (Lab): My Lords, Asked by Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton does the Minister accept the implications of local To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment authority cuts for health services? We know from they have made of cuts in funding to local authorities evidence that has come out today, and will continue to in the most deprived and least deprived areas of come out, of the number of local authorities that have England. cut beds in the community, ensuring that older people stay in hospital longer. This is affecting my not only Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con): My Lords, own area of Milton Keynes, where I am chair of the local government accounts for a quarter of all public Milton Keynes foundation trust, but all over the place. spending. It is vital that local authorities help tackle Local authorities are saying outright that this is why the deficit by finding sensible savings and making they cannot cope with having more beds, so they are better use of resources. Local government has risen to closing beds in nursing homes. the challenge well and public satisfaction with council services remains high. Baroness Williams of Trafford: The noble Baroness brings up a very valid point. There needs to be a Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab): My Lords, joined-up approach in both health and social care. It is I accept the Minister’s statement but would add that the to be hoped that in due course a better care funding University of Sheffield’s research shows that areas such package will deliver this so that there is a seamless as my own—Preston, Blackburn with Darwen, Liverpool transition from hospital to intermediate care to care at and Manchester—have suffered disproportionately in home. terms of the reductions they are being asked to make. For example, Public Health England found that The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the dedicated Manchester, Liverpool, Blackburn with Darwen and funding for local welfare provision has been vital in Preston face some of the toughest challenges. How providing a net for some of the most vulnerable in can the Government justify giving reduced spending society. It is proposed that this will no longer be powers to local authorities in the most deprived areas ring-fenced but will be part of a general grant to local and allowing greater spending in more affluent areas? councils, at a time when their budgets are increasingly pressed—indeed, there may be a move for that money Baroness Williams of Trafford: My Lords, this is to be used for core statutory services in future. If that just not the case. The most deprived councils receive, money is not to be ring-fenced, will the Minister tell us on average, 50% more than the least deprived. I will give how Her Majesty’s Government will monitor the effects examples from either end of the spectrum. Middlesbrough of these changes and whether they will be willing to gets £2,500 per dwelling and Poole gets £1,678 per report back to your Lordships’ House on them, to dwelling. ensure that the most vulnerable are not even further Lord Laming (CB): My Lords, in the light of recent disadvantaged? media reports, what steps are the Government taking to ensure that child protection services are improved, Baroness Williams of Trafford: The right reverend especially in those areas where the need is greatest? Prelate makes a good point. The ring-fenced funding pots were not always used for their intended purposes. Baroness Williams of Trafford: Child protection is It is the Government’s belief that in devolving funds an incredibly important area—certainly in light of straight to local authorities they will make the best use some of the stories we have heard in recent weeks. All of them. I shall follow up the right reverend Prelate’s local authority officials working with children have a question on reporting back—I am sure that we can duty of care to those children. This is something we report back in due course. talked about a few weeks ago in terms of firming up some of those multidisciplinary arrangements. These Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab): Will the Minister are essential in joining together protections for children. ask the Government to consider reviewing council tax and getting a few more bands at the top, so that those Lord Shipley (LD): My Lords, I declare that I am a people who live in large houses—which might perhaps vice-president of the Local Government Association. be described as mansions—could pay a bit more towards In its recent publication Rewiring Public Services, which keeping local council services going? has all-party support, the association estimated that local government could save the public sector £11 billion Baroness Williams of Trafford: Perhaps that is a annually through joining up service delivery across the question for the noble Lord’s own leader. 369 Local Authorities: Funding[LORDS] Strategic Defence and Security Review 370 Baroness