Local Government Finance (England)

Debate between John Howell and Greg Clark

Wednesday 10th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

Let me make a bit of progress, and then I will of course give way to more colleagues.

As the Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed out, over the course of this Parliament the required savings that, as I made clear, councils will need to continue to make will be less than those required in the previous Parliament. The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that the required savings of

“around 7% in real terms over the next four years...is a substantially slower pace of cuts than councils had to deliver between 2009-10 and 2015-16, when councils’ spending power was cut on average by 25% in real terms.”

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that within this process councils are still required to do things in a fundamentally different way, such as setting up trading joint ventures, as one county council told me it had done on Monday, or looking at Uber-type services for buses?

[Greg Clark]

Yes, councils should take the opportunities to be innovative. My hon. Friend and I served on the Committee on the Bill that became the Localism Act 2011, which introduced a general power of competence for local councils precisely so that they could take decisions in the interests of their residents and contribute effectively.

Local Government Finance

Debate between John Howell and Greg Clark

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

It is in the interests of us all that councils are effective and efficient. I have always said that I do not believe in a top-down reorganisation of local government. When that has been attempted in the past, it has not ended well, if I may put it that way. But of course the commitment I have to devolution carries with it the idea that if local people want to do things differently, they should be able to do that, so if there are proposals from Northamptonshire that enjoy the support of local people, they should come forward and have those discussions.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his pragmatic approach to these issues. He rightly points out that demographic pressures affect different areas in different ways. When does he expect the needs review to be completed, and what role will the figures obtained from that play in any closer integration of social care with the NHS?

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who was of considerable assistance to me when we consulted on the national planning policy framework, and we were able to make sensible responses to that consultation too. I am keen to get the review under way as soon as possible so that it can inform not only business rates retention but other decisions the Government have to take from time to time about rural areas and the different needs of different areas. The sooner it is done, the better, and I will set out in the coming weeks the process involved, so that colleagues across the House can contribute.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Howell and Greg Clark

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

The Government’s productivity plan said local plans should be radically shorter and simpler. Does the Minister agree that local plans can deliver? What is he doing to facilitate this?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend was instrumental in helping us transform the planning guidance, taking 1,000 pages down to 50 in the NPPF, and I am delighted that he has agreed to serve on a group that will help to simplify local plans, which have become far too long. I believe his first meeting with the group is taking place tomorrow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Howell and Greg Clark

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

9. What steps the Government are taking to devolve powers to local communities.

[The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)]

We shall have a moment of silence at the end of Question Time, but I think that, as we gather together in the House at this point, we will all want to share our condemnation of the atrocities in Tunisia, Kuwait and France last week. All our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

The Government are committed to devolving greater powers away from Whitehall to drive economic growth. We have already taken steps to enable that to happen by introducing the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill. I welcome devolution proposals from all areas, including proposals relating to how powers might be devolved to cities, towns, counties and neighbourhoods throughout the country.

[Greg Clark]

I am having discussions with the leaders of the north-eastern authorities, and I expect to see them later in the week. There is a real groundswell of opinion in the north-east that now is the time to put aside some of the divisions that have held it back, and to have clear leadership. Nothing will be imposed on an area, but I look forward to meeting the leaders and hearing their proposals.

[John Howell]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that neighbourhood planning represents the best way of ensuring that communities have a real say in the planning system when it comes to deciding where houses should go, what they should look like, and what green and open spaces should be preserved?