Local Government Finance

Baroness Primarolo Excerpts

Wednesday 19th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)]

Order. A lot of Members want to ask questions to the Secretary of State and not make speeches, but at this rate not everybody will be able to participate, because we have urgent business. I would appreciate short, direct questions and short, direct answers, at which I know the Secretary of State is an expert.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

While the Secretary of State is dispensing advice, what advice would he give to council tax payers in Halesowen, who are seeing Dudley council spending thousands of pounds on a consultation exercise that calls for council tax rises of up to 4.6%?

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)]

Order. Secretary of State, I know that you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of this subject, but we would be grateful if you did not share all of it with us this afternoon. May we have slightly shorter answers please, otherwise Members who want to put a question to you will be disappointed?

[Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham, Ladywood) (Lab)]

May I remind the Secretary of State that Birmingham’s finances became a mess under a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, and that it is a Labour administration that, since May, has been trying to put that right? However, Birmingham is facing some of the biggest cuts in local government history, with a reduction in income of £149 per person, which is more than double the national average. Will he meet me and a delegation of Members of Parliament from Birmingham to discuss the pressures that Birmingham is facing and to see whether we can find a way to mitigate the situation?