Local Government Finance

Debate between Diana Johnson and Sajid Javid

Wednesday 22nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy), who has responsibility for local growth, met Trafford Council recently. I meet many councils myself and listen to some of their challenges. Trafford Council is one of the authorities that is implementing some efficiencies, but there are always more things that can be done, some of which I shall highlight later.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Hull City Council wrote to the Secretary of State a short while ago. In his response, he offered to meet the leader of the council and its chief executive. We waited many weeks for that meeting to be set up, until we received a letter from the correspondence secretary saying that the Secretary of State was not able to meet. Having just said what he did about meeting local authorities, will he now agree to a meeting with Hull City Council?

[Sajid Javid]

I assure the hon. Lady that Ministers from my Department have had several meetings with Hull City Council, and I, too, am happy to meet the council. If I remember correctly, I received a letter in November and replied within weeks. I am more than happy to meet—in fact, I contacted Hull City Council only today to offer a meeting.

Under the new system, there will no longer be an annual finance settlement that is reviewed and imposed by Westminster each year. Instead, the Government will set the envelope and the principles for allocating funding over a period, and it will be for councils to grow their income. That could be done in a variety of ways, from attracting new businesses and building new homes to working with local partners to deliver more efficient and joined-up local services. One hundred per cent. business rates retention is being piloted from next year by Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Cornwall, West of England and the Greater London Authority.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Sajid Javid

Monday 16th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

19. Between 2010 and 2020, around £40 million will have been taken out of the adult social care budget in Hull. The effect could be seen this weekend in what is happening in our local NHS hospitals. Will the Secretary of State think again and make sure that the problems that local authorities such as Hull are facing are addressed by central Government ring-fenced money?

[Sajid Javid]

I am sure that the hon. Lady will welcome the announcement made a few weeks ago that tried to recognise the pressures that she identifies: there will be £900 million of additional funding over the next two years, on top of the £3.5 billion by 2020. She rightly highlights that we need to keep looking at this situation to see what more can be done.

Local Government Finance Settlement

Debate between Diana Johnson and Sajid Javid

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I assure my hon. Friend that the new homes bonus will stay in place. The reforms that we have announced today were consulted on; I think the consultation began in December 2015. It is important to make sure that the incentives for local authorities to promote house building remain, not least to deal with some of the local pressure for more homes in their area. He mentioned the national baseline figure of 0.4%, which councils must be above. He may be reassured to know that that is based on historical numbers, and that the figure for the country last year was 0.94%, so most local authorities will still be able to benefit from the new homes bonus. I listened carefully to what he said about the possible change in relation to appeals, which we will consider in the consultation.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

How will Hull be in a better position to meet local needs when the Secretary of State’s announcement of a 1% increase in the precept that the council can levy will bring in only £700,000, or just 12% of what Hull actually needs to address its social care budget following the massive cuts since 2010? Wealthier areas such as the East Riding can raise much more from their council tax base, and they have many more self-funders, so how is that fair? The Government are not giving Hull what it requires to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the country.

[Sajid Javid]

Hull, the area the hon. Lady mentioned, will benefit from these changes. She mentioned the change in the precept, which is important; I do not have the exact number for Hull at hand, but it will help. I notice that she did not mention the money going into the new homes bonus. The new homes bonus is allocated on the basis of relative need and takes into account the ability of local areas to raise money through taxes. As it is based on relative need, it will benefit places such as Hull.

Casey Report

Debate between Diana Johnson and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 6th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Obviously, the review was into opportunity and integration, and the report highlighted the persistent disadvantage of white working-class children on free school meals who underperform at school. When the Government produce their report in the spring, will they address that issue as well?

[Sajid Javid]

First, the Department for Education is taking several actions to address that problem, which the hon. Lady is right to raise. She will know that the Prime Minister has also launched a race disparity audit, which looks at all public service across government. I am chairing that process alongside the Minister for the Cabinet Office. That work has just begun, but we are also trying to ascertain how public services are provided and what the outcomes are for all communities, including white working-class boys. We are trying to learn from that information how we can improve and what more we can do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 28th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

11. What his plans are for the future of the Land Registry.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)]

We recently consulted on options for the Land Registry. The consultation closed on 26 May and we are currently reviewing the responses. Until this is completed, no decision will be made.

[Diana Johnson]

Having a Land Registry office in Hull, I note that in the consultation of July 2014, when the coalition scrapped plans to sell off the Land Registry, only 5% of people consulted said that it would be more efficient and effective to do so, and the Government admitted that the case for change had not been made. So what has changed since then?

[Sajid Javid]

As I said, no decision has been made. It is clear, however, that the Land Registry has been moving increasingly from the use of paper to electronic means, and these modernisation and efficiency changes need to carry on. Regardless of ownership, this is just the kind of change we want to see.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Diana Johnson and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

T3. Given the similarity of recent events at British Home Stores with what happened to Hull-based Comet four years ago, when British taxpayers were left with tens of millions of pounds to pay out in redundancy payments, will the Secretary of State ensure that the report that he commissioned on Comet and the Comet scandal is published?

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady will know that the report was commissioned by my predecessor. I will take a close look at what she has said and get back to her.