Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Neill Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

4. What steps his Department is taking to increase the efficiency of local government expenditure.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Robert Neill)]

The most important thing that the Government are doing is to return power to local authorities, because they are the people who are best placed to manage their resources in a way that meets local priorities, but specifically we are also supporting a raft of initiatives, such as the local government procurement programme.

[Chris White]

Recently, I met a local business, Colan Ltd, which was concerned about the way that local authorities procure goods and services. My constituent stated that local authorities have conflicting policies that are costing small companies such as his and in some cases are wasting public money. Will the Minister detail what work is being done to put in place more joined-up procurement across local authorities to support small businesses and ensure better use of public money?

[Robert Neill]

My hon. Friend makes a fair point. The estimate is that some 20% could be saved on the £50 billion that local authorities spend on third parties, which is about £452 per family a year. To that end, the Government are working with the Local Government Group on behalf of the sector to identify short and longer term savings through the local productivity programme.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

On spending efficiency, my local housing association tells me that a lone parent with a spare room might be moved from housing association accommodation into private rented accommodation at a cost of £40 more under the new housing allowance. Is that an example of Government ideology or just of stupidity?

[Robert Neill]

I suspect that it is an example of inaccurate point scoring by the hon. Gentleman. We propose to give local authorities greater flexibility to meet the pressures that vary from place to place, rather than having a “one size fits all” straitjacket.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking to improve transparency in local government.

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[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

15. What recent assessment he has made of potential effects on levels of local authority service provision of reductions in central Government funding to local authorities.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Robert Neill)]

Local government is best placed to assess and decide on local priorities, not Whitehall. This Government have given councils the power and flexibility to take decisions locally on how to deliver the savings needed, and I hope that they will do so by reducing back-office inefficiencies and high senior salary levels, rather than cutting the front-line services that matter most.

[Julie Hilling]

Youth workers in Oxfordshire, like others up and down the country, were instructed to work on the streets during the recent disturbances, but they are now all being made redundant. Youth work is clearly a front-line service, so what is the Minister going to do to stop this destruction? I do hope that he is not going to reiterate the nonsense that savings can be made by cutting executive pay and merging back-room functions.

[Robert Neill]

I am sorry that, in her otherwise serious point, the hon. Lady suggests that efficiency is nonsense; I do not think that it is. In answer to her specific point, the British Youth Council, the National Youth Agency and the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services have all condemned the disorder that we saw on the streets and they are working well with the Government. I hope that she will support the Government’s initiative for national citizen service, which is being piloted in the Bolton lads and girls club in her area. There’s youth service in action!

[Mr Nick Raynsford (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

16. How many new homes received planning consent in the second quarter of 2011 in England.

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[Alok Sharma (Reading West) (Con)]

T3. A recent independent report on the use of section 106 moneys by Labour-run Reading borough council concluded, among other things, that it was “difficult to categorically state that officers or members in position of power have not abused their position”.What advice can the Minister offer concerned council tax payers who want to see the full and exhaustive investigation that Labour in Reading is refusing to initiate?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Robert Neill)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important point. As I am sure he will appreciate, I must be careful not to say too much about the individual case because I understand that a reference may be made to the district auditor, but I can say more generally that both the report and his question highlight the problem that has arisen as a result of the opacity and lack of transparency of section 106 agreements. The Government inherited that problem, but we are committed to reforming section 106 agreements, and have made proposals to do so.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the ministerial team agree that one way of making local government more efficient would be to make the people who work in it feel valued, and feel that they do a good job for their communities? Is it not about time that Ministers spoke up with one voice about what a good job those people do throughout our communities?

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[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T7. I welcome the proposed localisation of the council tax benefits system. Can my hon. Friend say whether the funding of the administration of that system will also be localised, or remain central Government grant?

[Robert Neill]

As my hon. Friend knows, we are consulting on a raft of matters in relation to local government finance. We propose shortly to issue some technical papers. When he has perhaps read those, I will be happy to meet him to discuss the issue.

[Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

To address housing need, we need to build more than 200,000 properties, but according to the statistics that are coming out, it is unlikely that we will complete half that number in the coming year. The Government have already massively cut support for affordable housing and made a complete botch of the planning system. What will they do to address the coming housing crisis?

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[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

The West Midlands fire service is proposing to merge two fire stations in my constituency, which will significantly reduce the level of fire cover, reducing the number of fire engines from two to one. Will the Minister responsible commit to meet me and the chief of the West Midlands fire service to review those proposals and to ensure that the same level of fire cover is retained in my constituency?

[Robert Neill]

Of course I am happy to discuss the matter with my hon. Friend, but I must point out that these are local decisions for the fire authority, which must at all times act in accordance with its integrated risk management plan and its statutory obligations under fire services legislation.

[Mr Chuka Umunna (Streatham) (Lab)]

What is the Secretary of State doing in conjunction with other Departments to promote awareness among uninsured local businesses affected by last month’s riots that under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 the deadline for making compensation claims will fall imminently—this week, I think?