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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to take steps to tackle the levels of (a) borrowing and (b) capital risk at Eastleigh Borough Council.

The Government announced that it is legislating to provide appropriate powers to address instances of excessive risk from local authority borrowing and investment. The Department regularly engages with local authorities about their financial management and related policies. As part of engagement with the sector on the new capital measures, we are engaging with a small number of local authorities, including Eastleigh Borough Council, who may be most affected. My department will continue to work with them to understand their plans for reducing their levels of risk ahead of the legislative measures coming into effect, and we expect Eastleigh Borough Council and similar local authorities to engage with us throughout this process.