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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on the delivery of non-statutory services in Hampshire.

This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For Hampshire we are making available up to £1,360.0 million in 2027-28 in Core Spending Power, an increase of 18% compared to 2024-25. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.