Council Tax: Social Care Precept

Baroness Shephard of Northwold Excerpts

Wednesday 20th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My Lords, I have already addressed the important question of proportionality, which the noble Baroness raised. The Government have put in place a total package of £3.5 billion which will be available by 2019-20. That package is greater than the local authority associations’ £2.9 billion estimate, set out in their spending review submission.

[Baroness Shephard of Northwold (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend described the situation for local authorities as challenging, which indeed it is. What encouragement are the Government giving at local level to social services and health departments to merge their services? My noble friend will know that an extremely successful initiative along these lines has been going for at least a decade in Torquay. I feel, and I think that many Members of this House with great local experience will agree, that encouragement for such a merger would help to make the best of scarce resources.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My noble friend is right that councils have worked very hard over the past five years to deliver a better deal for local taxpayers, and that the important thing is to keep council tax down while satisfaction with local public services must be maintained. However, further savings can be made when councils account for one-quarter of all public spending. There is much that can be done that is appropriate in terms of merging services, as my noble friend has said.