Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support local authorities increase their provision of local welfare assistance schemes.
Local welfare assistance funding is delivered through the local government finance settlement on a non ring-fenced basis which gives local authorities maximum flexibility to deliver services as they see fit according to local needs. We recognise the vital role local government plays in delivering a range of vital front line services and this is why they will receive an additional £2.9 billion next year, the largest increase in spending power in almost a decade.