To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010, Official Report, columns 15-17WS, on the local government savings package, what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the provision of services in Stockton of changes to his Department's funding allocation in 2010-11.

We have asked local authorities to make a contribution of £1.166 billion to the £6.2 billion of cross-Government savings in 2010-11 to enable the Government to take immediate action to start to tackle the fiscal deficit. Of this, £358.5 million will come from my Department's budget and £175.0 million will come from the budget which my Department holds on behalf of Government as a whole.

The reduction in grants for individual local authorities for which final allocations had been announced is set out in the document made available to the House at the time of the written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010, Hansard, columns 15-17WS.

Local authorities are free to make their own decisions about where savings are found. We have ensured that councils have the flexibility to take decisions locally on how to deliver the savings needed without impacting on essential frontline services.