Welfare Assistance Schemes Debate

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Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Main Page: Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Labour - Life peer)

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton Excerpts
Tuesday 10th February 2015

(9 years, 9 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Portrait Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
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It is always a pleasure to agree with my noble friend.

Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton Portrait Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)
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My Lords, the Minister is right in supporting the principle of local autonomy, but was he present when his noble friend Lord Newby, in answer to an earlier question, referred to the fact that the north of England loses out financially, as do the Welsh, because of government allocation of funding and resources? I asked the Minister a question yesterday as to whether these funds were being cut in total or not. Is the answer yes or no?

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Portrait Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
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Local authorities have to take the burden, as does everyone else in government. We inherited, as we all know—it is well documented—an economy that was failing, but we should now celebrate the fact that unemployment is down, employment is up, and inflation is down. Do you know what? We believe in local authority autonomy; that is what we are doing, and the maximum cut received by any local authority across the country is 6.4%.