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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason he has reduced the cash grants from Government element of Core Spending Power to (a) Maldon District Council; and (b) Braintree District Council as part of Core Spending Power in the local government settlement published on 17 December 2025.

The provisional Settlement 2026–27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power (CSP) for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025–26. By the end of the multi-year Settlement in 2028-29 Maldon will have a total of £11.3 million, and Braintree will have a total of £24.2 million in CSP.

The government has been clear that councils furthest above their new funding allocations which have benefitted the most from the existing system will need to accept some income losses, to ensure funding can be redirected to where it is assessed as being needed most. Recalculating available business rates alongside a new assessment of funding need will ensure that business rates income is reallocated to meet these changes in relative need - restoring the Business Rates Retention system to its intended purpose of providing a responsive funding stream for local government while rewarding authorities for business rate growth. This group of authorities will still receive protection of 95% of their income, including business rates growth.