Local Government Finance

Michael Dugher Excerpts

Monday 13th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

It has been a most dreadful experience, with the moves from the districts to the counties. One of the principal problems has been that a number of district authorities put in more money than the Government were actually giving them. At some point, some of that money was passported across to the counties, so that the districts registered a loss. I have tried to help by adopting a broad-brush approach of putting additional money into districts that are faced with a big loss in their spending power, but this is only a provisional assessment, and I will be listening carefully to what local authorities have to say on this issue.

[Michael Dugher (Barnsley East) (Lab)]

Does the Secretary of State think that Mr David Shakespeare should remain as leader of the Conservative group on the Local Government Association after his offensive remark last week, which has been reported in today’s newspapers, that constituents from poorer parts of the north—including areas such as my own—should

“replace the Romanians in the cherry orchards”?

[Mr Pickles]

I was not aware of Councillor Shakespeare’s remarks until the hon. Gentleman mentioned them. I will be seeing him first thing on Wednesday morning, and I shall ask him precisely what he meant by that.