Oral Answers to Questions

Jim McMahon Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

16. What plans her Department has for local government reorganisation in Devon.

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)]

On 16 December, I wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and neighbouring smaller unitaries, including in Devon, to set out plans for a joint programme of devolution and local government reorganisation. Later this month, I intend to formally write out to those councils on the shortlist to ask for interim proposals by March and fuller proposals later in the year. We will confirm that as soon as possible, because we know it is important to have clarity.

[Ian Roome]

Obviously, any reorganisation will impact council finances. My constituency of North Devon has coastal towns with real pockets of remote deprivation, isolation and poverty. Now that the Minister’s Department has cut the rural services delivery grant, what methodology will be used to ensure that local government funding does not overlook those areas?

[Jim McMahon]

With respect, the hon. Gentleman is conflating two entirely separate issues. One is reorganisation, which will take money away from the back office and put it on the frontline where people can see the benefit of that investment, but to be absolutely clear on rural services, the provisional settlement that was laid out ensures that primarily rural councils get an average increase of 5%, and no council sees a net reduction in its income levels. That is our commitment to rural communities, and it is firm.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving councillor on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

Many councils have already undergone significant reorganisation, from moving to shared services right the way through to full unitarisation, and the costs of that have always been underestimated. Although transformation leads to lower long-term revenue costs, we know that councils everywhere are teetering on the edge, so finding funds to pay for reorganisation, transformation and redundancies will be problematic. The mayoral authorities add an extra complication, so can the Minister confirm that funding from central Government will be provided to fully cover both devolution and local government reorganisation, so that councils do not have to factor extra costs into their 2025-26 and 2026-27 budgets or risk reducing local services further?

[Jim McMahon]

The Government are not requiring any area to reorganise. What we did was write out and invite proposals to be submitted, and I pay tribute to councillors across the country for the leadership they have shown in putting those proposals forward. Investment to support LGR or devolution will follow a bit later, but to be clear, this is a bottom-up reorganisation being requested by local councils, and they have our full support in that process.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to work with the devolved Administrations to support people sleeping rough in winter 2024-25.

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[Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)]

20. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the English devolution Bill on local public services.

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)]

The English devolution Bill will strengthen public services by delivering local government reorganisation and establishing more directly elected mayors, who will have the new power to convene public services. The Bill will also deliver a new health improvement duty for strategic authorities, and enable more mayors to take on responsibility for police and crime commissioner functions, and health functions as well, to co-ordinate better on local public services. Beyond mayors, the White Paper reasserts the role of local authorities as leaders of place and the delivery arm for the Government’s missions.

[Jen Craft]

The catastrophic impact of the level of debt left behind by the previous Conservative council is being felt all over Thurrock. Our services have been cut to the absolute quick, and delivery for residents is at an all-time low. Although I welcome the impact that devolution will have on growth and value for money, what reassurances can the Minister offer that devolution will finally give us the chance to turn the page and deliver where it matters for my constituents?

[Jim McMahon]

That is a shared ambition. The Government are determined to take power away from Westminster and put it into the hands of local communities. We know that driving better outcomes and better public services rests on fair funding, and for too long councils have been impoverished, while more expectations have been placed on them. The funding reforms we are consulting on will be part of rebuilding the foundations, but this is a very significant project to get power away from this place to local communities.

[Jodie Gosling]

English devolution provides a generational opportunity to unlock the potential of towns such as Nuneaton. I thank the Minister for his time and support in ensuring we get these options right. Will he continue to meet me and council representatives to discuss the best options for unlocking growth and opportunity in Nuneaton?

[Jim McMahon]

I thank my hon. Friend and the many other MPs with whom I have had meetings to talk about devolution—at the last tally, about 140 one-to-one meetings with MPs have taken place, such is the interest being shown in devolution for the right reasons. I am more than happy to continue those conversations and to welcome the local leadership being shown.

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Several Mid Leicestershire villages such as Glenfield, Birstall and Braunstone town are extremely anxious at the prospect of being forced into a large city unitary as a result of the English devolution Bill. Will the Minister agree to meet me to discuss this matter, and will he give my constituents the assurance that they will not be forced into a city unitary against their wishes?

[Jim McMahon]

It is important to say that any requests for local government reorganisation are proposed to Government by the local areas. It is for the Government to provide the process by which those applications are heard. Over at least the last four years, local authority elections have been postponed countless times to allow reorganisation to take place. To be clear, there is a bottom-up approach for both the postponement of elections and the boundaries that are drawn for the unitaries. Our job is to ensure that the process supports that approach.

[Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) (LD)]

I want to ask about the interaction between the planning reforms and devolution, which are two huge bits of legislation. In Tunbridge Wells we have a local plan, but we have been asked when we do our new local plan to have a 66% increase in houses. Except, we will not have a new local plan because Tunbridge Wells borough council will cease to exist—it will become part of the West Kent unitary authority. How will these two huge reforms interact and what will it mean for housing numbers in Tunbridge Wells?

[Jim McMahon]

In a sense, a council is only an organisation at a point in time, but there will always be a local authority responsible for the area. We want to ensure that the authority is strategic but also takes that wider view. Reorganisation is of course part of that, but, importantly, a strategic authority can also take wider responsibility for aligning public service reform with local growth. The hon. Gentleman talks about housing numbers and we can sometimes miss how important that is: housing targets are one thing, but we must not forget that for every one of those numbers there are people and families who currently do not have a safe and affordable place to live. This agenda is about tackling exactly that.

[Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)]

21. What recent progress she has made on planning reform.

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[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

On Friday, I met the leader of Wiltshire council, who asserts that the way the Government have calculated the distribution of compensation between in-house and commissioned services means that Wiltshire has not fared well in the local government settlement that was announced on 18 December. Will the Minister meet me so that I can better understand the thinking and relay it back to the leader of my council?

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)]

We know that local government is feeling the pressures after 14 years that did not bode well for local and public services. We understand the pressures associated with national insurance, which is why the Treasury has committed £515 million to support councils in that endeavour. I am more than happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman about his particular circumstance.

[Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)]

Are the Government considering compensation schemes for homeowners who have suffered financial losses due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in their properties? If so, I am especially interested in the Barnett impact for the Scottish Government of any such scheme, as I have constituents from Tillicoultry whose lives have been seriously impacted.