Mr Jonathan Brash

Mr Jonathan Brash

Labour — Hartlepool

Speaking in the House of Commons on 4 February 2026

Debate

Engagements

Contribution

Q7. Hartlepool now has the third highest number of children in care in England—a number fuelled by southern councils shipping families to my town. This is blowing a £6 million hole in our budget, a deficit that my brilliant Labour council has halved, but there is now nothing left to cut. Percentage increases in funding mean less in Hartlepool than almost anywhere else in the country, but a child in care costs exactly the same in Hartlepool as elsewhere. The fair funding settlement announced in December does not go far enough. I am fighting non-stop for a better deal for my town, because I will not accept one of the poorest communities in the country being condemned to higher taxes or devastating austerity. We need support. Will the PM commit his Ministers to working across Government to fix this for Hartlepool?

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