Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mark Francois and Philip Davies
Mr Francois
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words about my boss. I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman still agrees with what he told the Municipal Journal on 29 September 2010:
“Labour was wrong in 1997 to downgrade the role of local government”.
We are not doing that; we are trying to upgrade the role of local government, and I remind him that spending power per household for the Birmingham area will be £2,554 in 2015-16, which is more than the England average excluding the GLA, more than the metropolitan area average and more than the Cheshire East average of £1,851.
Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)
There are many areas of high deprivation in the Shipley constituency. Does the Minister agree that people who are in need in otherwise affluent areas should be treated in the same way as those who are in need in deprived areas? What can he do to ensure that Bradford Council treats all those in need equally, and that it does not simply direct its resources to those in need in its Labour heartlands?
Mr Francois
I am sure that any constituents who are in need have a doughty champion in my hon. Friend. If he believes the local authority is being deficient in any way, he will not be slow in coming forward to tell it so. Councillors in local government have had to take difficult decisions—I served in local government, so I remember some of those, too—but it is right that councils spend their money equitably for the residents across their entire area.