Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Emma Lewell-Buck

Main Page: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)

Oral Answers to Questions

Emma Lewell-Buck Excerpts
Monday 24th April 2017

(7 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Craig Williams is not here, but Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck is.

Emma Lewell-Buck Portrait Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
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12. What steps he is taking to tackle regional variations in adult social care funding.

Marcus Jones Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Marcus Jones)
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Adult social care funding is distributed according to the relative need of the different areas using a well-established formula. Most of the £4.5 billion funding for social care announced at the 2015 spending review and in the spring Budget takes into account councils’ ability to raise money through the social care precept.

Emma Lewell-Buck Portrait Mrs Lewell-Buck
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I thank the Minister for his response, but I am sorry to say that he is wrong. The formula is broken. South Tyneside Council is the third hardest hit council in the country with a low council tax base, demand for adult social care higher than average and hospital services under threat from this Government’s forced sustainability and transformation plans. Is it not true that this Government, who created the social care crisis, cannot solve it and our constituents are suffering as a result?

Marcus Jones Portrait Mr Jones
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The hon. Lady’s assessment is completely wrong. Councils will have access to £9.25 billion of extra funding over the next three years. On the money that is coming directly from the Government, it absolutely takes into account a local area’s ability to raise council tax, so areas such as that of the hon. Lady will receive more in funding from the Government than some other areas. She does not have any reason to talk about council tax because it doubled during the Labour Government. Since 2010, it has gone down by 9%.