Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the consequences when auditors fail to sign off a district council's annual budget.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
A council's annual budget is signed off by a meeting of the full council as presented by its chief finance or Section 151 Officer. An auditor does not generally have a role to play in this process. However, the auditor issues an opinion on ie ‘signs off’ a council’s year-end financial statements. This opinion may be unmodified or, where an auditor has identified significant issues, they may give a modified opinion. Auditors also have powers to issue an advisory notice or a public interest report. Local authorities are accountable to their electorate.
It is a legal requirement for a council’s accounts to be signed off by the external auditor, however as the auditor must be satisfied with the accounts before doing so, there is not a specific timescale within which they must give their opinion or other specific consequences of a failure to sign off the accounts. Recently there has been a significant increase in the number of council accounts that remain outstanding. As at 31 May 2020, the 2018/19 accounts of 57 councils had not been signed off.
To help address the audit delay issue, we commissioned the independent Redmond review to review arrangements supporting the transparency and quality of local authority financial reporting and external audit within the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The Review is due to report later this year. We also recognise the pressures councils - and auditors - are under in the context of Covid-19 and have therefore extended the deadlines for them to publish their draft and final accounts in 2019/20 to 1 September and 30 November 2020 respectively.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the remit of the Public Works Loan Board to include local councils in Northern Ireland.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Public Works Loan Board provides loans at lower than market rates for capital expenditure to local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. The Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 provides the legal basis which permits district councils to borrow and sets out the responsibilities of the council should they choose to do so. The Financial Provisions (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 is the legislation which underpins government lending from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund to local councils to support capital expenditure. This provides loans at lower than market rates for capital expenditure without extending the remit of the Public Works Loan Board to include local councils in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of district councils to withstand significant losses of income from business rates, council tax, and fees and charges for services including planning charges, parking charges and those for leisure services; and (1) how many, and (2) which, district councils they have assessed as being in danger of being unable to continue to discharge their statutory functions.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We announced, on 18 April, an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support councils delivering essential frontline services, taking the total to over £3.2 billion of additional funding. This funding means that almost 70% of district councils will have received £1 million or more in support to manage Covid-19 income pressures.
We are now focused on gathering the best possible information and data from councils on income and expenditure figures. We are doing this through our ongoing local authority Covid-19 financial monitoring survey.
The returns collected will refine our assessment of income losses across the sector. We are also engaging with councils and their representatives, local Leaders and Chief Executives, and organisations including the District Councils Network.
We will continue to work with local government, including district councils, over the coming weeks to ensure they are managing as the pandemic progresses.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to provide support to district councils in two-tier local authority areas that are facing reductions in income and increases in expenditure as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Allocations of the additional £1.6 billion support for councils to respond to coronavirus were announced on Tuesday 28 April. This is an unprecedented package of support which responds to the range of pressures councils have told us they are facing and takes the total amount provided to local councils to over £3.2 billion. Across both waves of funding, almost 70 per cent of district councils will receive £1 million or more in support, whilst 90 per cent of the funding will go to social care authorities.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what financial support he plans to provide to district councils to compensate for lost revenue from (a) car parking charges, (b) rent, (c) leisure services and (d) council tax due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Simon Clarke
On 18 April the Government announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support councils in England to continue to deliver essential front line services, bringing the total amount given to councils to help them through the covid-19 pandemic to over £3.2 billion. The package demonstrates the Government’s commitment to making sure councils, including district councils, have the resources they need to support their communities through this challenging time.
We are using data collection and our conversations with councils to refine our assessment of costs and lost income resulting from the pandemic. Allocations to individual local authorities will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on allocating additional financial support to district councils to compensate those councils for increased expenditure and lower receipts as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
On 18 April the Government announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support councils in England in delivering essential front line services, bringing the total amount given to councils to help them through the pandemic to over £3.2 billion. The package demonstrates the Government’s commitment to making sure councils, including district councils, have the resources they need to support their communities through this challenging time.
We are using data collection and our conversations with councils to refine our assessment of costs, and allocations to individual local authorities will follow as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to consider the proposal for a prevention precept on council tax at district council level to match the social care precept available to county councils in two-tier shire counties.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government recently published the Local Government Finance Settlement 2018 to 2019: Technical Consultation. This sets out the Government’s intended approach for the third year of the multi-year settlement, including consideration of the council tax referendum thresholds which were set in 2017-18.
The consultation closed on 26 October 2017 and proposals for 2018-19 will be published later in the year, following consideration of responses. The consultation (attached) can be found at:
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to reassess the level of funding to be reclaimed from Stroud District Council as a result of changes to council tax and rent support arrangements.
Answered by Marcus Jones - Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
Local authorities in England were offered a four year funding deal from 2016-17, which 97 per cent of authorities, including Stroud District Council, accepted. The 2016-17 Local Government Finance Settlement allocated Revenue Support Grant by looking at the main resources available to councils, taking account of funding that councils can raise locally, namely council tax and business rates. This ensured that councils delivering the same set of services received the same percentage change in the funding available to provide those services.
The local government finance settlement is subject to an annual statutory consultation exercise, offering an opportunity each year to consider representations from all authorities.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations from (1) county councils, (2) London boroughs, and (3) metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities and district councils, were received between 17 December 2015 and 8 February 2016 regarding the Local Government Finance Settlement, and what assessment they have made of the extent to which the final settlement meets the concerns raised in each case.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement ran from 17 December 2015 to 15 January 2016. During this period, the Government received 278 responses, including 89 from shire districts, 36 from unitary authorities, 28 from metropolitan districts, 26 from shire counties, and 25 from London boroughs. A detailed summary of all responses (attached) are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/499283/Summary_of_responses_to_provisional_LGFS_consultation.pdf
The Government listened closely to concerns raised and considered all representations carefully when determining the final settlement. For the financial year ahead, the final settlement provides councils with at least the resources allocated to them by the provisional settlement. In addition, transitional funding will be provided for the first two years of the Spending Review period.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the current funding levels of (1) the Environment Agency, (2) lead drainage authorities, and (3) district councils, on (a) small scale flood alleviation schemes, (b) preventive and regular maintenance of drainage systems, and (c) the ability of these bodies to respond to emergencies.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government confirmed in the Spending Review that the Environment Agency’s maintenance budget would be protected, in real terms, over the life of this Parliament.
Under the Land Drainage Act, internal drainage boards assess how much funding they need in order to carry out works and then charge this to rate and levy payers accordingly. Internal drainage boards receive funding from agricultural rate payers in their drainage district and from district and unitary authorities via a special levy which they place on those bodies.
The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties under the Flood and Water Management Act but local authorities decide what to spend on drainage and flood prevention according to local priorities. As part of a consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2016-17, the Government has proposed protecting this funding in real terms over the life of this Parliament.