Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Tuesday 27th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con) [V]]

A band C home in Coalville in my constituency has a higher council tax charge than a band H property in Westminster. The Chancellor, in his former position as a Minister in the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, told the House that the Leicestershire fairer funding model had a lot to commend it and would be used in consultation. Given that that was three years ago, will he look at an updated report by Leicestershire County Council entitled, “Putting right the years of wrong”?

[Steve Barclay]

Of course I would be happy to look at the report to which my hon. Friend refers. He knows that addressing future local authority resourcing is a matter for future spending reviews and the local government finance settlement. However, I would remind him that at the spending review 2020 we provided an estimated 4.6% cash increase in core spending to local authorities. That is on top of the largest real-terms increase in their core spending at the spending review 2019, and that is in addition to the about £11 billion of support that has been provided as part of the covid response.