Local Government Finance

Hazel Blears Excerpts

Monday 13th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

In the interests of brevity, I congratulate Tamworth. That is the kind of Tamworth declaration that I would expect.

[Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State says that he is being generous in putting £30 million of his departmental budget into local government. For a big man, that is pretty small beer. Does he accept the truth that the abolition of area-based grant means that the poorest places, especially in the north, will be worse off? In Salford, £3 million of area-based grant goes into tackling crime and disorder.

[Mr Pickles]

For Salford, the reduction in spending power will be 8.5% next year and 3.9% the following year. There is a misunderstanding from the right hon. Lady, although I do not mean that disrespectfully. The way to protect the poorest is to put money into the block grant, because that is the most distributive grant. That point is like the argument about the level of capitalisation. The more money that goes into the block grant, the more that vulnerable communities are protected.