Barry Sheerman
Main Page: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Brandon Lewis
My hon. Friend makes a very fair point. Councils should look to curtail the ÂŁ2 billion of fraud and error in the system, and the ÂŁ2 billion of uncollected council tax, to make sure that they are able to provide the front-line services that residents rightly deserve.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Minister agree that the problem is not only half-empty and understaffed children’s centres, but the fact that children’s services in charge of child protection are not able to fulfil that function fully enough?
Brandon Lewis
Again, I would say to the hon. Gentleman that if the local authority in his area is making bad decisions about where its funding goes, he should put pressure on it, and I am very happy to help him to do so.