Stephen Mosley
Main Page: Stephen Mosley (Conservative - City of Chester)
Andrew Stunell
I certainly understand that anxiety. The whole country is anxious about the financial circumstances we face, both in the public finances and in the voluntary sector, and it will be extremely important for partners to work together, including local authorities and the voluntary sector, to overcome those difficulties in the very difficult circumstances we face.
Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)
20. What steps he is taking to reduce the administrative burden placed on local authorities by central Government.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Robert Neill)
We have already scrapped the comprehensive area assessment and regional spatial strategies, as well as removing ring-fencing from more than £1 billion of local government spending. We are currently inviting local government to identify the statutory guidance, legislation and regulations that it thinks should be removed, and we will go much further by introducing a decentralisation and localism Bill later in the year.
Stephen Mosley
One consequence of reducing the administrative burden on local councils and freeing them to take more decisions locally will be to allow them to offer different levels of services from their neighbours. Does my hon. Friend agree that far from being a bad thing, that will allow good councils to differentiate themselves from bad councils and allow local council tax payers the ultimate decision on the type of council they desire?
Robert Neill
Freedom for local authorities to respond to the priorities and needs of their residents is absolutely a good thing and is a top priority of this Government.