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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has received representations from local authorities to write off the Public Works Loan Board debts of Woking Borough Council.

Previous Secretaries of State used statutory powers to intervene in a small number of councils failing their Best Value Duty partly associated with high levels of unsustainable debt, including Woking. We continue to work with Best Value Commissioners in these councils to support the councils’ financial recovery.