Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Monday 24th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

I have great respect for my hon. Friend, who has considerable knowledge in this area. He is absolutely right: we need to ensure that health and social care works far more collegiately and that harder work is done to ensure that services are integrated. We are determined to do that at a national level with this Department working with the Department of Health, and it is what we expect to see delivered at a local level for local people.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

21. As the Minister has recognised, the social care precept means that funding available for social care is increasingly dependent on a local authority’s tax base. In 2017-18, the precept will generate £9 million in additional funding in Sheffield, compared with more than £31 million for Surrey. Does the Minister think that that is fair?

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Gentleman should look at the allocations for the £4.5 billion of social care funding coming to local authorities directly from the Government. That absolutely takes into account the fact that certain places can raise far more in council tax and from the social care precept than areas such as his own. That is reflected in the allocations, and I wish that he would recognise that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gavin Barwell]

I am happy to confirm that the written ministerial statement that is enlarged on in the White Paper is exactly designed to ensure that neighbourhood plans are not overruled when the local authority does not demonstrate that it has a five-year land supply. In addition, the White Paper contains proposals to help councils to demonstrate that they have a five-year land supply in order to uphold the plans that they have worked hard to produce.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

T10. Sheffield City Council is leading the way in building much-needed affordable housing through its innovative Sheffield Housing Company partnership, but across the country the number of affordable homes built last year fell to the lowest in 24 years. Sheffield is doing its bit; why are the Government failing so badly to address the country’s housing crisis?

[Sajid Javid]

We are investing record amounts in affordable housing. Since 2010, more than 310,000 units have been created throughout the country. If the hon. Gentleman wants to know what failure on affordable housing looks like, he need only look at the previous Labour Government, who saw a fall of 410,000 units in social housing for rent.