Local Government Finance Bill (Fifth sitting)

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 7th February 2017 Public Bill Committees

[The Chair]

I do not have any information at all, but if anyone does perhaps they can inform us.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Marcus Jones)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Gapes. I have made it clear to the Committee, including when I gave evidence, that we will shortly bring forward a summary of the responses to the consultation. We will certainly do that.

Schedule 1

LOCAL RETENTION OF NON-DOMESTIC RATES

[Mr Thomas]

I beg to move amendment 24, in schedule 1, page 33, line 13, at end insert—

“(1D) The principles of allocation statement must be approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

(1E) In the year prior to any reset of the Business Rate Retention Scheme a principles of allocation statement must be approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.”

This amendment, together with amendment 25, would require a principles of allocation statement to be approved by the House of Commons. Subsection (1E) would in particular require a principles of allocation statement to be approved by the House of Commons in the year before any reset of the Business Rate Retention Scheme.

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[Mr Thomas]

It feels a little like the morning after, and I cannot promise to wake up Members and act as caffeine, as I usually like to try to do after a late night. The amendments are about parliamentary scrutiny. In a sense, last week’s proceedings were an hors d’oeuvre to the main course: the case for ensuring that there is proper parliamentary scrutiny of local government finance.

Last week the hon. Member for North Swindon made an enlightening contribution to the Government’s case. It is a pity that the Minister could not achieve the same heights. Given that the hon. Gentleman for North Swindon works closely with the Whips, what he said was revealing, and this is why parliamentary scrutiny matters. He did not have much interest in the case for redistribution of local government finance, and foresaw a new Jerusalem as economic growth incentives kick in.

To be fair to the Minister, there was a small benefit in terms of parliamentary scrutiny when he revealed, after much mulling over, that any local authority that cut its multiplier in the future would not be entitled to any top-up under the new system. I suspect that that means that few local authorities will rush to cut business rates.

Those two small indications—the Government mindset, which the hon. Member for North Swindon helped us to understand a little better, and the Minister’s indication of how future arrangements underpinning the Bill will work—serve as a reminder of the importance of continuing parliamentary scrutiny, which is what the amendments would help to embed in the Bill.

It may be worth reminding the Committee how accountability to the House of Commons is envisaged under the Bill. Paragraph 7 of schedule 1 repeals the requirement to provide a local government finance report that must be approved by the House of Commons. Instead, under paragraph 12 the Secretary of State will be required to publish a principles of allocation statement, which will set out how the tariff and top-up levels have been calculated. Everyone expects that that will substitute for the local government finance settlement.

Under the Bill, the Secretary of State could publish a principles of allocation statement covering several years at once. Indeed, the requirement to publish a statement annually is abolished by the Bill. Paragraph 15 of schedule 1 provides that an amending statement may be made, and again that would not have to be put to the House of Commons for approval. That amending statement allows for tariffs and top-ups to be altered retrospectively up to a year after the financial statement, so presumably the tariff and top-up could in the most dramatic cases be axed completely. I grant that there has to be a consultation with local authorities, but in theory dramatic change to local councils’ spending power could be the result of such retrospective change.

The amendments stand in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West and Royton. Amendments 24 and 25 would require the principles of allocation statement to be approved by Parliament in the same way as the existing local government finance report. Similarly, amendment 26 would require that any amending statement to the principles of allocation statement would need approval by the House of Commons.

Why on earth would Parliament want to ensure scrutiny for local government finance in future? There is a series of reasons, which I will take a little while to explore. A House of Commons occasion such as the local government finance settlement provides a moment for change whereby the Executive can be held to account for their performance, or lack thereof. That is crucial. For example, the issue of social care has been debated in many guises, both by this Committee and by the House, and last September’s local government finance statement provided an important opportunity to scrutinise the Department for Communities and Local Government on its handling of the social care crisis.

There is also the question of how local government finance should be scrutinised. Should it be done purely by Members of Parliament seeking to discuss their individual local authority’s situation through a Back-Bench debate? There is of course a case for that. I had the pleasure of taking part in a debate on the local government finance of midland authorities, including Birmingham. My hon. Friend the Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) also took part in that debate.

The role of individual Back-Bench MPs in securing an Adjournment debate and fighting their local council’s corner will always be an important way of scrutinising local government finance. Before I returned to a Front-Bench post, I, too, sought to do that, on a number of occasions raising the difficult financial situation of Harrow Council. Before my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West and Royton joined the Front-Bench team, I had the pleasure of hearing him fight the corner of his local authority of Oldham.

Under reforms to Parliament, Back-Bench MPs on both sides of the House now have the opportunity to work together to secure time—usually on a Thursday and sometimes in Westminster Hall—for a particular subject to be debated. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton for his support in securing a Back-Bench debate on maternity discrimination. Perhaps it would also be legitimate for Back Benchers to work together to secure debates on issues relating to local government finance.

Her Majesty’s Opposition might want to use one of our Supply days to focus on local government finance. Indeed, in this session we have already used one of our Supply days to highlight the problems of social care. The Communities and Local Government Committee has done excellent work looking at local government finance. I will come back to that. Yes, there is a role for Back Benchers, for the Select Committee and for Opposition-led debates, but surely an annual debate on the state of local government should be timetabled in the House. Without our amendments, I fear that that opportunity will be lost.

[Mr Jones]

I want to explore what the hon. Gentleman has just said. He says that he wants an annual debate and a vote on the settlement, but that does not seem to concur with his amendment. What does he want to get out of this?

[Mr Thomas]

I appreciate the fact that the Minister may have had too much caffeine in the wake of very few hours’ sleep, but I encourage him to be patient. I will come to the merit of the amendments and what they seek to achieve.

I would not have thought that the Minister was naturally frightened of appearing before the House, although he has a track record of getting things wrong. He was recently a member of the Standing Committee that considered the Housing and Planning Bill, which tried to introduce a pay-to-stay scheme. Our parliamentary scrutiny in that debate helped to begin the process of getting Ministers to cave in and to recognise that they were wrong. There is a strong case, not for less parliamentary scrutiny, as the Minister envisages with this Bill, but at least for maintaining, if not increasing, the scrutiny of local government on the Floor of the House.

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[Peter Aldous]

rose—

[Mr Jones]

rose—

[Mr Thomas]

I always support the rights of Back Benchers, so I will give way to the Minister’s Back-Bench colleague before giving way to him.

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[Mr Thomas]

Of course I would support a fairer system. I think of the ways in which the system is not fair in relation Harrow council’s finances—£80 million plus of cuts in the last four years. I wonder how that is fair.

The exchange that the hon. Gentleman and I have had about fairness is an entirely reasonable debate. I simply think it should be had on the Floor of the House on an annual basis on the local government finance settlement.

[Mr Jones]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Thomas]

I will give way to the Minister. I have not forgotten him. I am trying to but not succeeding.

We should have that debate on fairness in local government finance, and on how spending power is allocated across local authority areas, on a regular basis, and ideally on an annual basis, when we debate the local government finance settlement. I cannot understand why it should be abolished before the new system comes in. When there is a principles of allocation statement or an amending statement, surely that should provide the hook for a debate on the Floor of the House of Commons about fairness and a series of other issues related to local government finance.

I will give way to the Minister before I come back to Suffolk, which I know will be of interest to the hon. Member for Waveney.

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[Mr Jones]

With his usual charm and wit, the hon. Gentleman decided to go off on a tangent and talk about coffee rather than answer my earlier question. He still seems to want to back two horses. Does he want an annual vote, or does he want a vote to set the principles at the start? His amendment says one thing, but he seems to be speaking another language at the same time. What does he actually want?

[Mr Thomas]

Given the sorry state of local government finance, I would be up for a debate every three months if it was going to lead to action on social care.

The point of the amendments, a couple of which are probing amendments, is to explore the issue of scrutiny by the House of Commons. The Minister—let me be generous to him for a second—in responding to an intervention by the Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee on Second Reading appeared to hint that he might be willing to look at this question. I gently encourage him to do so.

There is a long tradition of Members of Parliament raising the concerns of their local authorities, be they North Yorkshire, Thurrock, Torbay or wherever, on the Floor of the House when we debate the local government finance settlement. I hope the Minister has some respect for local authorities and for the role that this great House plays in helping local government to ensure that there is a regular opportunity for scrutiny of local government finance.

I was dwelling on the authorities of the hon. Member for Waveney as part of the case for such ongoing scrutiny. If the situation in Waveney is bad—this time last year, Waveney was extremely worried about its ability to survive and prosper—the situation for Suffolk is surely as dramatic. The local government finance settlement for Suffolk suggested that it was set to lose more than £73 million in revenue support grant between 2015-16 and 2019-20, and that it was gaining only just over £9.3 million under the system of 50% devolution of business rates.

Suffolk County Council will clearly recognise that more responsibilities are coming its way in the brave new world of 100% business rates devolution. I suspect it will be sceptical that it, like Waveney, can generate significant additional business rates income. If it is getting only £9.3 million under 50% business rates devolution, it seems unlikely that it will be able to get anywhere close to the £73 million in revenue support grant that it has lost or is going to lose by the end of this Parliament.

Let us take an extract from the January 2017 cabinet meeting of Suffolk County Council on 24 January, where that Conservative council says:

“The Council should be under no illusion that the future financial outlook continues to be extremely challenging and deep ‘cuts’ to services will be required to remain viable even with a future general council tax increase.”

Among its proposals were cuts to libraries and archive services; culture, heritage and sport facilities in Suffolk; children and young people’s services; the travel support budget for children and young people; help for local schools with their budgets; public health; and housing. That is the scale of financial difficulty Suffolk County Council faces.

I have a suggestion for the hon. Member for Waveney, who I know will be as concerned about the financial situation facing Suffolk County Council as he is about the one facing Waveney District Council. His leverage as a Member of Parliament will be weakened if Parliament does not have to approve the principles of allocation statement. If there is not an opportunity on the Floor of the House of Commons for a debate, he might be able to persuade Mr Speaker to grant a Back-Bench debate on the finances for Waveney or Suffolk councils or both. He might be able to persuade Opposition Members to come together to look at the local government finances facing the east of England for a Back-Bench debate. He might even be able, if he whispers in my ear, to persuade the Opposition on occasion to use one of our Supply days for a debate on local government finance. Those are all good things in their own right. However, his leverage as a Member of Parliament for his two authorities will be weakened by the provisions in the Bill and the loss of parliamentary accountability envisaged in it. I gently suggest to him that that is surely negative and that he might want to use his considerable influence and charm on the Secretary of State to persuade him to think again.

I want to dwell briefly on another issue linked to parliamentary scrutiny—the mandate for the changes. There was no indication in the Conservative party manifesto. I hope the hon. Member for Torbay has learned the lesson of his experiences of intervening in debates so far—one should read what one’s opponents say before challenging them. I have read the Conservative manifesto—and what a dismal read it was. That is a part of my life that I will not get back. [Interruption.]

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[Mr Thomas]

The hon. Gentleman is in danger of suffering from the same disease as the hon. Member for Torbay, and of repeating his question. Of course I am in favour of the principle of 100% business rate devolution. Indeed, we had it in our manifesto as part of a much bigger package of devolution than anything envisaged by the Conservative party. Perhaps the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton, who has a reputation for hard work, would like to dig out a copy of the Labour party manifesto, where he can check the section on local government. I will happily pay for him to have a cup of tea with the hon. Member for Torbay so he can point out to him the passage about the increased spending power that councils would have had if Labour had been in charge.

[Mr Jones]

rose—

[Mr Thomas]

I hope the Minister’s contribution will be better than those he has made to date.

[Mr Jones]

It is good to be back on the Committee with the hon. Gentleman. I have looked at the Labour party manifesto: there was a significant commitment to devolve additional responsibilities for additional funding, but did the former shadow Chancellor, who lost his seat at the general election, say there would not be a penny piece more for local government if the Labour party were elected?

[Mr Thomas]

I am struggling. I thought that I had helped the hon. Member for Torbay not to make that mistake. Hearing the Minister make the same mistake as a Back-Bench Member is too much. A £30 billion increase in revenue spending power for councils was the centrepiece of our manifesto for local authorities, together with an English devolution Bill.

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It would be even more remiss of me if I did not dwell briefly on the situation facing my local authority. In 2013-14 it was fortunate to retain some £34.88 million in business rates. That went up slightly to just over £35 million in 2014-15 and to almost £36 million in 2015-16, but sadly it drops to £34.5 million this financial year. Members might expect me to fight my local authority’s corner, and of course I do. They might also expect the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) to fight its corner, although he seems to spend more time fighting the local authority in Harrow.

[Mr Jones]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his generosity in giving way. He seems to be criticising my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman). Does he not know that during the settlement process this year, my hon. Friend brought in a finance officer from Harrow Council to discuss its settlement with me? I have not seen any evidence of the hon. Gentleman doing that.

[Mr Thomas]

I was not going to criticise the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), although the Minister almost provokes me to do so; I was merely suggesting that he might not want to criticise Harrow Council quite so much. I welcome the fact that he brought in the finance officer from Harrow Council. Indeed, I knew about that, and suggested that if I came along too I might upset the Minister inadvertently, so it was probably best for the finance officer to go in with just the hon. Gentleman. I deliberately stood back so as to try to ensure—[Interruption.]

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Mr Nolan referenced the fair funding review, too. The fact that he said “and, I suppose” shows that there is doubt in the mind of a key witness about whether Parliament will really have the opportunity, on the Floor of the House, to scrutinise how the new regime will work in practice, and hold the Secretary of State to account for local government finances. In that spirit of concern for scrutiny, and the ongoing responsibility of Members of Parliament to think about the state of finances for public services in not only their areas but others, I ask the Committee to support amendments 24 to 26.

[Mr Jones]

The Bill will provide the framework for a series of reforms to help local government boost local economies and become more self-sufficient and less dependent on Whitehall. This is a move away from a centralised state. The Bill will provide a clear framework in law for multi-year settlements, which will increase funding certainty and ensure that accountability for funding local services with local resources sits with local councils.

These radical changes require a new mindset. Under 100% business rates retention, there will no longer be a local government finance settlement to distribute central grants to support local services; local authorities will become more financially self-sufficient and will fund local services from local resources.

[Mr Thomas]

As the Minister knows, there is provision in schedule 1 for an amending statement to be made to the principles of allocation statement. Can he give an example of when such an amending statement might be required?

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Gentleman raises an interesting issue. If the country had the misfortune of another Labour Government—perhaps a discredited Labour Government, such as the one in the 1970s that went with a begging bowl to the International Monetary Fund—and inflation was soaring beyond belief, the Secretary of State might need to make some sort of amending statement to deal with the inflation and allow local authorities additional funding to deal with the mess that the Labour Government had again made. However, we are speculating, because I suspect it may be a little while before the Labour party is once again in a position to form the next Government.

[Jim McMahon]

Perhaps we can give the Minister a few seconds to capture his thoughts and reflect on the question. Does he envisage, then, that this power would be used only every 30 to 40 years?

[Mr Jones]

It is not for me to speculate on how often there will be a Labour Government. I do not think that I want to get into that this morning; I want to come back to the amendments and the Bill.

The amendments shift the focus back to Whitehall and Parliament by introducing a need for a resolution in the House of Commons, thereby jeopardising the move to more local accountability. The Government will be required to consult with local government on the principles for allocating funding over a period of years, and we envisage that whenever there is a reset of the business rates system, further consideration will be given to the allocation principles, in consultation with local government. Above all, it is important to provide as much certainty through this consultation as possible.

I am confused about the proposals, because on several occasions the hon. Member for Harrow West on the Opposition Front Bench has talked about a system of an annual vote, and about a vote at the start of the process to set the principles. He cannot have both things, but he seems to want to have his cake and eat it. I am worried that he is trying to undermine the principles of what the Government are trying to achieve.

[Mr Thomas]

Will the Minister give way?

[Rob Marris]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Jones]

I will. It is always best to hear Back Benchers first.

[Rob Marris]

The Minister, who I believe is moving towards suggesting that the amendment should not be accepted, just prayed in aid the consultation with local government representatives. On page 33 of the Bill, proposed new sub-paragraph (2) in schedule 1(12)(4) says:

“Before making a principles of allocation statement, the Secretary of State must consult such representatives of local government as the Secretary of State thinks fit about the general nature of the principles of allocation.”

The Secretary of State could deem two local government representatives fit under that provision. Can the Minister say a little more about how wide the consultation would be? Would it be wider than my extreme example of two, which the Bill would allow?

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Gentleman’s example was rather extreme. I would envisage that we would properly consult local government in its entirety.

[Mr Thomas]

Why does the Minister think that the principles of allocation statement should not be approved by the House of Commons?

[Mr Jones]

The point I was making to the hon. Gentleman is that I am rather confused about what he is looking for here. He has argued against the proposal he makes here and in favour of an annual vote in Parliament on this. There is very little clarity in his argument and, therefore, in what he is seeking to achieve by tabling this amendment, which seeks to undermine the principles of the Bill.

[Mr Thomas]

I hope in my closing remarks to deal with the fog of confusion that surrounds the Minister. It is the job of Opposition Members to ask questions of Ministers about the Bills they are bringing forward. The Minister needs to give us a justification for why the principles of allocation statement should not be approved by the House of Commons.

[Mr Jones]

I have spent some time in my contribution explaining that. It is always good to hear the hon. Gentleman speak from a sedentary position, like the archetypal school bully, but I will not take that to heart. I would never think he would do anything other than try to improve the discourse in the Committee.

[Mr Thomas]

Tough love.

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Gentleman mentions from a sedentary position tough love. With regard to his proposals, his version of tough love seems to be very confused. The point I am making, and the reason I urge him not to press the amendments, is that there needs to be far more clarity about what he is looking to achieve. What he suggests at the moment, particularly on having an annual vote—or not, as the case may be—seems to very much undermine the principles behind the amendments, so I ask him not to press them.

[Jim McMahon]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I will be quite brief, as I recognise that we are pushed for time in the morning sitting and that a vote will take place.

My hon. Friend the shadow Minister will want to reply to that very brief response from the Minister, which I struggled with. My hon. Friend explained at length the concerns we have and probed in great detail about where we are trying to get to, but the Minister could do nothing more than read out a pre-prepared statement from his folder in response. That really lacks respect for this Committee and for the amount of work and dedication that has gone into probing these provisions. I ask the Minister to reflect, before this afternoon, on whether he is happy with his performance this morning and to think about the great deal of weight and responsibility that his post carries.

It is not good enough just to dismiss the legitimate concerns raised here and bat them away as if they are not important. We are talking about the future financing of vital public services that our communities rely on. The amendments have not been tabled for the sake of it or to cause trouble and make waves; they are here because we are seeking certainty about the future sustainability of public services. For the Minister’s response to be five minutes—certainly less than 10 minutes—is quite disrespectful, and not only to us. He can be disrespectful to the Opposition—that is part of the Punch and Judy of politics—but to be disrespectful to the millions of people who live in this country and rely on those services is quite unforgiveable.

I would like a bit more clarity on what this provision means. We heard from the Minister in the evidence session that an additional £12.5 billion will be provided through business rates to local authority services, but no detail was provided on what grants would be taken away in lieu of that or what additional responsibilities will be pushed down. We still do not have clarity on whether mandatory relief and small business rate relief will be net of that figure. The Minister was at best confused and vague in his evidence.

Let me run through the numbers to clarify how big the gap could be depending on the financial review that is carried out. We know from the evidence session and the paper that the fantastic team at the Library have produced that the Government will release £12.5 billion, but they have not said whether the revenue support grant, the rural services delivery grant, the public health grant, the improved better care fund, the independent living fund or the early years grant will be included. They have excluded the Greater London Authority transport grant from those numbers. If we were to roll up those grants and expect them to be covered by the £4.5 million, we would have a gap, because their total cost is £14.7 billion. Can we have clarity on whether the £12.5 billion is new money? Is money going to be taken away that is provided to local authorities through grant support at the moment?

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[Jim McMahon]

Okay. My contribution is about parliamentary scrutiny and the role of MPs, both Opposition and Conservative Back Benchers, representing their local areas in Parliament. The reason the annual statement has to come to Parliament is so that we can ask these probing questions. However, before we get there, a decision will be made on which of these grants will or will not be included. As far as I can see, there is potential for there to be a very significant funding gap. More than that, we know that the adult social care gap is £3.5 billion. We also know that, despite a 25% increase profiled for council tax, that will generate only £1.8 billion.

There is concern about the grants that have been provided and whether the £12.5 billion will be enough. There is also concern about the £3.5 billion social care funding gap and the £1.8 billion profiled council tax increase. Those questions, which I accept are detailed, are critical and the reason these amendments are so important. For a Back Bencher, this is their only opportunity to have the debate and, more important, to have a vote on the day. The vote says to their constituents that they have represented their interests in Parliament. If the amendment is not accepted, that ability will be taken away from MPs.

[Mr Jones]

Again, the hon. Gentleman is seeking an annual vote of the House. Does he not think that an annual vote would completely undermine the principles of what we are trying to achieve here, which is certainty for local government over a longer period? This is something that local government itself has wanted for some time and something that 97% of local authorities have signed up to during this spending review period.

[Jim McMahon]

I thank the Minister for his intervention and for showing that in some ways he may have a slightly better grasp of his brief than I thought. However, 97% of local authorities have submitted their multi-year financial settlement. The Minister has still not confirmed how many of those local authorities have identified a funding deficit. It is all very well saying that local authorities have submitted the plan. What we have not had is the detail of how many are in deficit and will not be able to fund statutory services over the life of that multi-year settlement. That is why the annual scrutiny of public finances in local government is really important.

We do not yet know what the safety net arrangements will be. If there is an in-year shock to the business rate base, how will we know that that will be rectified in the formula that is being assessed? How will we know that any new formula will take into account the very different geographies and demographics in our areas? It may need to be rectified mid-year. That would be picked up in an annual review.