Andrew George
Main Page: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Kris Hopkins
I wondered how long it would take for the bankers to come up in this conversation. The Minister responsible for local government makes the local government finance settlement announcement, and I am pleased to do so today. If the hon. Gentleman wants to grow his local economy, rather than coming here, not wanting to talk about his failures as part of the Labour Administration, he needs to go back to Coventry and think about ways in which to grow the business base and encourage more housing. That will create better outcomes for the people he alleges to represent.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Cornwall, the poorest region in the country, is already doing more with less. Before the Conservative opposition in Cornwall runs another shameless campaign for a council tax freeze as the council faces a cut of a third of its budget over the next three years, causing carnage in the local authority, will the Minister reflect on his statement today that he is closing the gap between underfunded rural authorities, such as Cornwall, and urban authorities? At the rate he is going, he might close the gap by the next ice age. Will he please go back to the drawing board?
Kris Hopkins
An extra £4 million is definitely an increase—it was £11.5 million and is now £15.5 million. The Government are going a long way towards closing the gap. If the hon. Gentleman believes that more money is required, there is a mechanism by which that can be achieved, as the council can increase the council tax. He should trust the people of Cornwall and put it to the vote.