Local Government Reorganisation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Jess Brown-Fuller
Main Page: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)Department Debates - View all Jess Brown-Fuller's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Local Government Reorganisation
Jess Brown-Fuller Excerpts(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Alison McGovern
Yes, we will consider representations from all stakeholders through this process.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
Most areas that will have local elections next year know what their local authority boundaries will look like, but residents of West Sussex are still completely in the dark. Those in, specifically, Bersted and Pagham are worried about being put into a coastal authority that risks being bankrupt on day one. When the Minister comes to the House on Thursday, will she lay out how a deficit of, potentially, £45 million will be plugged, and will she also rule out using one authority to pay for the deficit of the other?
Alison McGovern
I take the hon. Lady’s question as a kind of pre-alert for what she would like to know on Thursday. That is helpful, and I thank her for it. Let me make the general point that local government finances are very challenging, and when a council cannot make its finances work, all of us in the country pay the price in the end.