Does the hon. Gentleman agree that parish councils, which are an important part of local democracy as they are the closest to the communities that they serve, have been specifically and explicitly excluded from the process?
As my hon. Friend has said, the experience of the process has been difficult for all parties. I well remember our debates on some of the unitary authorities that now exist, when there were divisions between all the parties. I think that this is a missed opportunity. If we want to engage people in politics, should we not encourage them to unite on the changes that they want rather than being...
The Secretary of State seems very keen to talk about this year's Budget settlement, but less keen to talk about Government grants looking ahead. What guidance has he received from the Treasury about the scale of future cuts that councils will need to make? Does he really believe that efficiencies alone will be able to halve the deficit?
The problem is that the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinks that that is simply not possible, and that deep cuts will follow in years ahead. Given that no credible detail is forthcoming from either the Government or those on the Conservative Front Bench, should the right hon. Gentleman not be doing the responsible thing and advising councils to prepare for the worst-case scenario pointed out...
Thank you, Mrs. Humble, for your very efficient chairmanship and for giving me another 25 minutes in which to speak. I would not go quite as far as the hon. Member for Beckenham and say that it has been good-tempered debate, although the mood seemed to improve as hon. Members woke up. We have discussed important issues that we hope to resolve before Report. The debate has also touched on...
The hon. Gentleman has highlighted some weaknesses in the existing system, which the clause could exacerbate. Perhaps there needs to be a wider rethink of the options available to local authorities. In some cases it might require a return to the committee system or a more effective counterweight to that. The key issue is that the set-up of the current overview and scrutiny system also muddies...
I have only a brief point to make and, having been generous, I would like to make some progress. The way in which the Warm Front scheme operates is an example of how public money and private companies could open up the need for the kind of scrutiny that we do not have at present. It is a national scheme involving large sums of public money, but in Cornwall we have very few installers, which...
As I am sure the hon. Lady knows, the scheme interacts with local authority grant funding to help deliver in areas such as Cornwall, where there is little gas heating and a grant is required from the local authority to ensure that some local people can afford it.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses since its inception.
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses since its inception.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much consultants employed by his Department have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses since its inception.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what programme budgets of each sponsoring Government department are administered by Government Offices for the Regions.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated to assist first-time buyers with property purchases in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what estimate his Department has made of the cost of (a) local authority reporting to central Government and (b) local government inspection by external inspectors and auditors; and what recent research his Department has (i) conducted and (ii) commissioned on this matter; (2) what estimate his Department has made of...
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on (a) staffing, (b) administration and (c) publicity costs in respect of the New Communities Fund.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on the New Communities Fund; and how many people have participated in the Fund since its inception.
