I beg to move motion 3,

That the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2013-14 (HC 948), which was laid before this House on 4 February, be approved.

I beg to move motion 3,

That the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2013-14 (HC 948), which was laid before this House on 4 February, be approved.

The workplace pension reforms are a hugely important part of the Government’s commitment to secure and protect people’s income in retirement. As part of the automatic enrolment process, it is vital that employers comply with the spirit as well as the letter of the law.

The Government therefore intend to introduce...

The workplace pension reforms are a hugely important part of the Government’s commitment to secure and protect people’s income in retirement. As part of the automatic enrolment process, it is vital that employers comply with the spirit as well as the letter of the law.

The Government therefore intend to introduce...

My honourable friend the Minister for Pensions (Steve Webb) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The workplace pension reforms are a hugely important part of the Government’s commitment to secure and protect people’s income in retirement. As part of the automatic enrolment process, it is vital that employers comply with...

My honourable friend the Minister for Pensions (Steve Webb) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The workplace pension reforms are a hugely important part of the Government’s commitment to secure and protect people’s income in retirement. As part of the automatic enrolment process, it is vital that employers comply with...

Amendment 3 was moved in the other place by my noble Friend Baroness Hollis of Heigham. It calls for one very simple thing: a review of how the new system for council tax support is working three years after the Bill as enacted comes into effect. We tabled amendment (a)...

Amendment 3 was moved in the other place by my noble Friend Baroness Hollis of Heigham. It calls for one very simple thing: a review of how the new system for council tax support is working three years after the Bill as enacted comes into effect. We tabled amendment (a)...

I wish to raise the issue of 12 district councils that face substantial reductions in the overall funding they receive as a consequence of the proposed reforms to local government finance. The councils affected are Great Yarmouth, Bolsover, Barrow-in-Furness, Hastings, Pendle, Preston, Chesterfield, Copeland, Thanet, Breckland, my own constituency of...

I wish to raise the issue of 12 district councils that face substantial reductions in the overall funding they receive as a consequence of the proposed reforms to local government finance. The councils affected are Great Yarmouth, Bolsover, Barrow-in-Furness, Hastings, Pendle, Preston, Chesterfield, Copeland, Thanet, Breckland, my own constituency of...

The hon. Gentleman is making a very strong case on behalf of the 12 district councils. Without the funding, our cuts in Burnley will be 28.7%. This situation arises from a history of make-up money that the previous Administration gave us over a few years and that has now been...

The hon. Gentleman is making a very strong case on behalf of the 12 district councils. Without the funding, our cuts in Burnley will be 28.7%. This situation arises from a history of make-up money that the previous Administration gave us over a few years and that has now been...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments, which I will address as I go along.

The system deals with more than £20 billion each year and funds more than 400 local councils, police and fire authorities. It is based on a vast array of data capture, statistical calculations,...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments, which I will address as I go along.

The system deals with more than £20 billion each year and funds more than 400 local councils, police and fire authorities. It is based on a vast array of data capture, statistical calculations,...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on raising the matter. His argument of behalf of the towns in question is very important. In Bolsover, every single pit was closed within a space of 10 years following the 1984-85 strike, and every single textile mill was closed at the same time. That...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on raising the matter. His argument of behalf of the towns in question is very important. In Bolsover, every single pit was closed within a space of 10 years following the 1984-85 strike, and every single textile mill was closed at the same time. That...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. His council faces cuts of £1.93 million, the equivalent of 25.9% of its core funding. In Hyndburn, similarly, devastating economic impacts over the decades have made it hard for the constituency to compete economically. The loss of the cotton industry was the start...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. His council faces cuts of £1.93 million, the equivalent of 25.9% of its core funding. In Hyndburn, similarly, devastating economic impacts over the decades have made it hard for the constituency to compete economically. The loss of the cotton industry was the start...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones) on securing this debate. He has comprehensively set out the pressures that many of us recognise are facing the 12 local authorities in receipt of the 2012-13 transitional relief, as well as highlighting the potential consequences of removing that funding.

The transition...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones) on securing this debate. He has comprehensively set out the pressures that many of us recognise are facing the 12 local authorities in receipt of the 2012-13 transitional relief, as well as highlighting the potential consequences of removing that funding.

The transition...

I appreciate the Minister giving way given that I took some time for my speech, but this is not a party-political issue. Most of the authorities involved were controlled by the Liberal Democrat or Conservatives over the period in question—as the Minister accepted—and the problem to which he refers in...

I appreciate the Minister giving way given that I took some time for my speech, but this is not a party-political issue. Most of the authorities involved were controlled by the Liberal Democrat or Conservatives over the period in question—as the Minister accepted—and the problem to which he refers in...

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point, but we must be clear that his party stood in an election this year saying that it would not do shared services. It won that election and got the political mandate to do that, but it cannot now expect the taxpayer to cover...

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point, but we must be clear that his party stood in an election this year saying that it would not do shared services. It won that election and got the political mandate to do that, but it cannot now expect the taxpayer to cover...

The Minister makes a good point, but it is almost as if he is re-reading a speech about the new homes bonus. There is no housing market in Hyndburn. We need investment in infrastructure, skills and apprenticeships, and, as he said, we need to clean up the

industrial estates and...

The Minister makes a good point, but it is almost as if he is re-reading a speech about the new homes bonus. There is no housing market in Hyndburn. We need investment in infrastructure, skills and apprenticeships, and, as he said, we need to clean up the

industrial estates and...

I will come to the new homes bonus, but I would hope that local authorities have been doing what he suggests with the transition grant to do their part for the local community’s economic growth. The incentive in the business rate scheme is there to drive that and to provide...

I will come to the new homes bonus, but I would hope that local authorities have been doing what he suggests with the transition grant to do their part for the local community’s economic growth. The incentive in the business rate scheme is there to drive that and to provide...

The Minister makes a powerful argument for some parts of the country, but not for the 12 authorities. Does he agree that it is not in local authorities’ gift to purchase houses? It is a question of whether there is demand in the market. Without the infrastructure and the attraction,...

The Minister makes a powerful argument for some parts of the country, but not for the 12 authorities. Does he agree that it is not in local authorities’ gift to purchase houses? It is a question of whether there is demand in the market. Without the infrastructure and the attraction,...

The hon. Gentleman tempts me into creating a fictitious market in any given area. The reforms, including the new homes bonus and business rate retention, are part of a package. No one magic wand will fix every problem. The package will encourage local authorities to develop their infrastructure and economy....

The hon. Gentleman tempts me into creating a fictitious market in any given area. The reforms, including the new homes bonus and business rate retention, are part of a package. No one magic wand will fix every problem. The package will encourage local authorities to develop their infrastructure and economy....

Agreed on question.

Agreed on question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the number of universal credit claimants who will receive transitional protection and (b) the expenditure on such transitional protection for each year between 2013 and 2017.

[124759]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the number of universal credit claimants who will receive transitional protection and (b) the expenditure on such transitional protection for each year between 2013 and 2017.

[124759]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

On 27 March 2012, I issued a Written Statement to the House concerning remuneration and conditions of service in the police. Within that Statement I explained that I would put...

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

On 27 March 2012, I issued a Written Statement to the House concerning remuneration and conditions of service in the police. Within that Statement I explained that I would put...