"I am afraid the hon. Gentleman has misunderstood how it works. An area does not get diluted. The scheme looks at super-output areas on a very small level so we can ensure that the funding goes to those areas with the highest levels of deprivation. I would be happy to …..." Steve Reed - View Speech
There are a few councils facing extremely challenging financial pressures that the previous Government turned into a crisis by ignoring their problems for over a decade. In response to requests from those councils, I am giving them flexibility to increase …..." Steve Reed - View Speech
"I agree with the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that council tax cannot be the only means to fix these problems. That is why we have increased the level of funding overall and reconnected it with the deprivation indices that tell us which areas have the …..." Steve Reed - View Speech
"I thank my hon. Friend for recognising that funding is now following deprivation. He will find the answer to his question in the homelessness strategy, which I will come to. [Interruption.] Madam Deputy Speaker, you are indicating with your wrist that I need to speed up, so I …..." Steve Reed - View Speech
"I want to make some progress, because I have taken quite a lot of interventions, but I will give way before I conclude.
Local government is still under pressure, and we will not bury our heads in the sand or dodge the difficult decisions. The adult social care system is …..." Steve Reed - View Speech
"Let me return to my theme for a moment before I take any more interventions.
The right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) and colleagues across the House will remember that the Tories used to belittle local councillors as part-time volunteers and took away their pension rights to …..." Steve Reed - View Speech
"I thank the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee for her questions. I reassure her that I have imposed nothing. I took representations and listened to local councils, and today I am merely responding to the representations that I heard. Most councils will go ahead. It is …..." Steve Reed - View Speech