Mike Kane
Main Page: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Brandon Lewis
Our target is to have 90% of brownfield land developed by 2020. We have made great progress, particularly on affordable housing, supplying almost 220,000 in this Parliament, and we are now building at the fastest rate in 23 years, but ultimately the planning decisions are for local councils and the local authority.
Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)
3. What assessment he has made of the effect of local government funding changes on services since May 2010.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins)
Since 2010 councils have set balanced budgets and council tax has fallen by 11% in real terms. Public satisfaction with local services has been maintained and we have increased transparency so that residents can hold councils to account.
Mike Kane
The Public Accounts Committee report in January looking into the sustainability of local government finance clearly stated that the 10 most deprived areas in England and Wales have had cuts 10 times greater than those of the 10 wealthiest areas. Does that prove that we are not all in this together?
Kris Hopkins
Both the National Audit Office and the PAC report noted that all councils had managed to balance their budgets, and we should note that the 10% most deprived councils in the country receive 40% more than the most wealthy councils.