Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether it is her policy to keep the allocations of funding set out in her Department's guidance on Levelling Up Fund Round 3: explanatory and methodology note on the decision-making process, published on 20 November 2023.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech forecasted an overspend of £21.9 billion above limits set by the Treasury in the Spring. We understand that will have caused uncertainty about the status of some projects and the challenge that presents locally. We must, however, ensure that we are making responsible decisions on public spending. Decisions that have fallen on this government to take. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Our Long-Term Plan for Towns, published on 1 October 2023, whether it is her policy to continue the £20 million endowment-style fund for each town.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to delivering growth in every corner of the country, by empowering communities to find local solutions to national priorities. However, as you will appreciate, the Government has inherited an extremely difficult fiscal environment and has a responsibility to fix the foundations of our economy, to ensure economic stability.
The department will set out further details on funding, next steps, and confirmation of the revised timelines in due course.