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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's policy is on increasing county council funding for (a) social care services, (b) SEND services and (c) road maintenance.

The Government recognises the pressures that local authorities are facing and is committed to getting councils back on their feet, by providing multi-year funding settlements, ending competitive bidding for pots of money and reforming the local audit system.

Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement. The department will work with local government leaders to ensure they are better able to fulfil their statutory duties.

The Government’s manifesto set out our intention for a programme of reform to create a National Care Service to deliver consistency of care across the country. We will work with the Department for Health and Social Care to engage local government on the development of this.

On SEND services, we are committed to taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

We will also work constructively with the Department for Transport with a view to ensuring local authorities have sufficient revenue funding within their settlement to carry out vital cyclical repairs to their network.