Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Brandon Lewis and David Wright
David Wright (Telford) (Lab)
8. What assessment he has made of the potential effect on local authority services of the decisions announced in the spending review 2013.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)
The spending round announcement is a fair deal for councils and taxpayers. We are putting in place powerful incentives to enable local government to transform local services, including £3.8 billion to drive the integration of health and social care, while still helping to pay down Labour’s deficit.
David Wright
I think that Telford and Wrekin council is acknowledged by the Department as a good council. It has made £50 million of cuts since 2010. The spending review indicates that it will have to make further cuts of £10 million a year for the next two years. We are committed to driving forward and finding efficiencies, but will the Minister issue some further detailed guidance on the pooling of health and social care money? It is really important for care, particularly that of elderly people.
Brandon Lewis
The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. This is a very important step forward and a huge opportunity for people to see better care as well as better savings for local authorities. We will continue to work with local authorities and the team at the Department of Health to ensure that the integration is smooth and that we get the benefits experienced in, for example, the tri-borough, which has taken this on and saved hundreds of millions of pounds and, importantly, is giving its residents a better service and a better quality of life.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Brandon Lewis and David Wright
Brandon Lewis
Absolutely. I congratulate Amber Taverns on the work it is doing to support the development and enhancement of community pubs in the north of England. Such companies—there are others across the country—are clearly demonstrating that, through innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, pubs absolutely can and should continue to thrive, and indeed are thriving, in the heart of our communities. I look forward to meeting representatives of Amber Taverns and seeing their work at first hand in the near future.
David Wright (Telford) (Lab)
Urban community pubs are also of great importance. What cross-departmental work is the Minister doing to ensure that supermarkets do not use alcohol as a loss leader?
Brandon Lewis
The Prime Minister has already announced the consultation on minimum pricing for alcohol, and I am sure that he will report back on that in due course.