Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Pickles and Pat Glass(10 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Pickles
Of course, it is very important in that kind of discussion to have a local plan in place, and one would expect a local council to be helpful to the community, and to developers, by setting out clearly where particular developments should take place. I hope that the hon. Lady will forgive me; obviously we will consider that fairly and openly if it comes to us, because the applicant is entitled to justice.
Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)
2. What progress his Department has made on resolving the dispute over firefighters’ pensions.
Local Government Finance
Debate between Lord Pickles and Pat Glass
Mr Pickles
Very easily. We had discussions with local authorities, and we were going to hold back by way of the top slice a particular sum in order to pay for the new homes bonus. Local authorities put to us a number of reasonable points about how the new homes bonus and—for want of a better word—the cash flow will be paid. We thought they made a reasonable point and decided that we were not taking much of a risk by keeping close to what local authorities were saying.
Pat Glass (North West Durham) (Lab)
The Secretary of State talked about £150 million of additional spending on academies. Is that part of or in addition to the existing £1 billion overspend on academies and free schools in the budget of the Department for Education?
Mr Pickles
I am grateful, because a scribbled note has arrived from the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr Foster), and the figure is not £150 million but £180 million. Those announcements will be made by the Secretary of State for Education.