Asked by: Alistair Burt (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding he expects to provide to (a) Bedford Borough Council and (b) Central Bedfordshire Council for local welfare assistance schemes in 2015-16.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
On 10 October, the Government published a consultation paper which sets out the Government's proposed options on how local welfare provision could be funded in 2015/16. The Government has committed to analysing the responses alongside the findings of the review that the Department for Work and Pensions has recently undertaken into the existing provision, the findings of which were published in a report on 5 November. The findings from both the review and consultation will help to inform future funding levels.