Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will (a) reassess the application of the Remoteness Adjustment across all funding formulas, in the context of levels of supporting evidence and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of its application on a service-by-service basis.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.

The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.

We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department plans to provide to each local authority in each of the next three years.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.

The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.

We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what evidential basis his Department decided to continue using the remoteness adjustment within the area cost adjustment of proposed funding formulas.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.

The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.

We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on what evidential basis his Department decided to end using the bespoke distribution method for the Recovery Grant.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.

The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.

We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to have a three-year transition period for the implementation of the fair funding settlement.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.

The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.

We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to retain the existing distribution method for the Recovery Grant.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is carefully considering views expressed by the public, local authorities and other bodies on the proposals set out in the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, including on the application of a remoteness adjustment, the distribution of grants and transitional arrangements.

The government’s proposals will target central government grant funding to where it is needed the most, and the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement.

We will publish further information and set out details through a policy statement and in the government’s consultation response shortly, followed by the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to make levels of council tax equal in all local authority areas; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on councils with less ability to raise local revenue.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Council tax is managed by local authorities, who decide what level of council tax they wish to set. This will reflect the service needs of each area having taken account of their other sources of income. It will also reflect historic council tax decisions taken by local authorities over several decades. The government maintains the referendum principles and authorities who choose to increase their council tax above this must obtain the approval of voters.

The Government remains committed to keeping all taxes and elements of the local government finance system under review. As part of the Fair Funding Review 2.0, for example, the government has consulted on proposals to fully account for how much different areas can raise from council tax within grant funding allocations.