Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department has provided for library resources in the London Borough of Havering in each of the last five years.

The majority of the funding provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement is not ringfenced, in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities. This includes funding for libraries.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country.

For Havering Council, this Settlement represents an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £15.82 million (7.2%) – making available a total of up to £236.4 million in 2024-25. We have also published details of support agreed with a small number of councils, including Havering Council, that have requested financial support on an exceptional basis due to specific local issues that they are unable to manage themselves.