Oral Answers to Questions

Ellie Chowns Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

My right hon. Friends the Northern Ireland Secretary and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury are in discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on some of the additional pressures they are facing. We are working through those plans and will have more to say shortly.

[Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

Regional funding must not come at the expense of local authority funding and all devolved funding must recognise the realities in the places where funding is needed, yet under the so-called fair funding review, in just three years Herefordshire council will see a reduction in UK Government fundings to 78% of current levels. The Government have also removed the remoteness adjustment for anything except social care, but rurality does of course matter for bin collections, school transport and many other aspects. Will the Chancellor look again at the fair funding review, which is unfair for so many places, like Herefordshire, and ensure that remoteness is properly adjusted for in the calculation?

[Rachel Reeves]

My understanding is that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is still consulting on this matter, so the hon. Lady and other colleagues will have a chance to feed into that process. In the spending review, we put an extra £600 million into supporting local authorities after the years of austerity under the Conservative Government. While the previous Conservative Prime Minister said he would take money away from poorer areas and give it to Tunbridge Wells, we are investing more fairly in the areas that need it most.