Local Government Finances

Part of Opposition Day — [1st allotted day] – in the House of Commons at 7:56 pm on 8 December 2009.

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Photo of John Denham John Denham The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 7:56, 8 December 2009

I get the gist, but I must tell my hon. Friend that there was a streak of honesty from the Conservative leader of the council who said that it was not worth consulting if nothing was to be agreed. That is refreshing compared with what we have heard this evening, but I agree with her.

On concessionary fares, which I was going to come to later, this Government have introduced free bus travel for pensioners, which is a great breakthrough. There are two truths behind that. First, all the evidence is that the funding nationally is the right amount for the concessionary fare scheme. Secondly, it is also the case-this was acknowledged by the Department for Transport just a few weeks ago-that we needed to make some changes to the distribution of funding, because as the system came in, we could see that some areas were gainers and some were losers. That was the right thing to do. I do not believe that there would be free bus travel for pensioners under the Conservatives. Even if adjustments in the formula have been proposed for the future, that reallocation was the right thing to do.

As for a local authority that takes the benefit of that and does not plough it back in-that is a real shame. The hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst said that free swimming was not fully funded, but there was a deal for local authorities. Labour councils thought, "That is a good deal for our people, so we'll have free swimming," and Conservatives councils turned round and said, "We're not going to do it." There is a difference between the parties. The offer was the same to both: the Conservatives said no in place after place, and the Labour councils said yes. That is the difference.