Local Councils: 2023-24 Budgets

Lord Laming Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, as I said, we recognise that councils are facing pressures but the 9% announced in the Autumn Statement is, in real terms, an increase in funding. Local government is having to meet pressures in the same way as every resident in this country is under pressure. As I said in answer to a question yesterday, we will look further at funding issues for local government in future—probably not in this Parliament but in the next.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will know that, in the decade from 2011, there was an estimated 22% real-terms reduction in local authorities’ purchasing power, despite that being a decade of considerable increase in demand for services. Does the Minister accept that it will be some years before local government will get back to the spending power that it had in 2011?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, local authorities across this country are doing some very creative things to make their money go further. They are working closely with others in their local areas to deliver the services that their residents deserve. I think that this will go on. Through the levelling-up Bill that has come here, we will see different ways in which local government can join together to make itself far more financially viable.