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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of outsourcing on the quality of service provision.

I refer the Hon Member to the written statement made on 18 December 2023 on the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement (HCWS148). We are seeking views on proposals for the 2024-25 Settlement via a consultation which closes on 15 January.

We will consider all responses before publishing a final settlement early this year. To assess the amount of funding required for local government ahead of fiscal events, we estimate the additional resource required to fund the expenditure needs of local authorities, using a range of forecasts and indices to estimate demographic and unit cost pressures facing local government.

Councils are independent, democratic bodies who are best placed to understand what is needed to deliver local priorities and are accountable to local people.