Local Government: Provisional Finance Settlement

Baroness Donaghy Excerpts

Wednesday 19th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend. I am very happy to ask the councils involved in the tri-borough initiative to let us have full details of the savings they hope to make. I suppose that I ought to declare an interest as having been a member of at least part of that tri-borough arrangement many years ago. However, they are very clear that they have made tremendous efficiency savings and, more than that, that they are much more efficient. As a resident of that tri-borough, I can say that they certainly demonstrate that. I shall certainly see that my noble friend receives those details.

I believe that the benefit caseload for this year is based on the figures for 2010-11 but I shall let my noble friend know if that is not correct. I shall need to write to him regarding the final outturn for council tax.

[Baroness Donaghy]

I thank the Minister for her Statement, although I realise that she is not responsible for the rodomontade contained within it. Does she appreciate that the word “need” does not appear once in the Statement? Would she also like to comment on the word “grab”, which does appear? However, there is no reference to the fact that 800,000 working people are going to be worse off under the council tax benefit arrangements or that, at the same time, better paid people—although it is not, strictly speaking, her departmental responsibility—will experience a tax cut. Would the Minister like to comment on the fact that the Statement may contain some of the truth but not all the truth?

[Baroness Hanham]

My Lords, as I gave the Statement to the House I must accept responsibility for it. I therefore take responsibility for the word “need” not appearing and the word “grab” appearing once or twice; whether this would be my way of putting it I am not sure. The noble Baroness makes the point about the 800,000 people; again, those are the figures that appear in the Statement and I am afraid I cannot comment on them further.