Mr Will Forster

When the Chancellor gave her spending review statement, I was very disappointed that she did not use the words “local authority” or “council” once. Worse still, she granted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government a tiny increase that we all know does not meet the challenge. It is an unfair deal to those who need housing and those who rely on council services. I know that as the MP for Woking. Sadly, I am the MP for the most indebted bankrupt council in the country. I fear that more councils will follow suit; 25 have said that they may soon issue a section 114 notice, which effectively means bankruptcy. Local government needs investment, so that we can shape our local places and our constituencies to ensure that vulnerable people are protected. I do not want more councils to follow Woking borough council’s route. The Local Government Association says that there will be an £8 billion funding gap by the end of this Parliament as a result of that financial settlement. That is unacceptable. The Government’s answer to that is to put up council tax by 5% every year for this Parliament. That is unreasonable. We know that council tax is not fair. It is an out-of-date system for funding our local authorities. The fact that it is based on early 1990s property values is not acceptable. Buckingham Palace has a smaller council tax bill than the average three-bedroom semi-detached in Blackpool. I will ask the Minister three questions. Will he commit to reforming the council tax system to ensure that local government is properly funded, and to ensure that funding is not based on that unfair system? Local government is struggling because of social care. Will he agree to lobby the Government to bring forward their social care review, so that it does not report in three years’ time? It urgently needs to report much sooner, so that we can tackle the social care crisis, which is causing a problem for our NHS, and particularly for local government. Finally, on special educational needs, we MPs hear from so many families that the system is not working. We hear from councils that it is putting them on the brink of insolvency. Does the Minister agree that the Government White Paper and the reforms in the autumn should come with a proper funding solution that supports our vulnerable children and ensures that councils will be financially solvent?