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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the core spending power figures of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027, published on 17 December 2025, for what reason his Department assessed Manchester City Council's council tax requirement will rise by 31% between 2024-25 and 2028-29; and what proportion of this is based on changes in the level of housebuilding.

As part of the government’s calculation of Core Spending Power we assume each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the average annual growth in their council tax base between 2021-22 and 2025-26. This is in line with the approach in previous Local Government Finance Settlements. We published details of this approach in an explanatory note. In line with usual practice and in recognition of the views raised in response to this consultation, the government will continue to keep its methodology for calculating the Core Spending Power of local government under review in future years.