Local Government Finance

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Florence Eshalomi]

I thank the former Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee —I know of the work that his Committee did on this issue. The reality is that we need to build more homes. The Government have an ambitious target, but our residents need somewhere to live in the interim. That will mean more strain on the private rented sector and on rents. I hope that the Minister is considering that impact in his work with officials from other Departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions.

Will the Minister inform the House about the details of the public health grant for 2025-26? That will play such a vital role in addressing major health inequalities, which we all want to see reduced in our respective areas. We are talking about treatment for drug and alcohol services and smoking prevention, for example. I declare an interest as a co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on HIV, AIDS and sexual health. Vital sexual health services help to address health inequalities, so it is vital that councils get funding—and certainty about it.

Extra money is only part of the solution. Some residents will yet again face higher council tax bills next year. They have the right to scrutinise, ask and ensure that every penny of that is spent in the right places, but the reality is that accountability in local government is far too often not fit for purpose. As the Minister knows—he referred to it—the situation got so bad that the National Audit Office refused to sign off the whole of Government accounts for the first time ever in November last year. Only one in 10 councils submitted reliable data for 2022-23, and over 40% did not submit any data at all. The Minister outlined the mess that he inherited, and the measures that the Government are taking to deal with the backlog, but we must ensure that we do not find ourselves in this position again.

The Minister also referred to the local audit office. Will he confirm what additional long-term steps the Government will take to address local government auditing? The consultation closed recently, on 29 January, and I would be grateful if he would outline a timeline for updating the House on that. I know that he shares my desire to give councils the support and flexibility they need. The first step in that is to fix council finances. We welcome the Government’s commitment to multi-year settlements from 2026-27 to give our councils the certainty that they have lacked for so long. I hope that he and the Government will remain open-minded to some of the reforms that our Committee will look at, so that we can all see councils up and down the country delivering the effective services that our residents need and deserve.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.