Devolution
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) alignment and (b) consistency of support for non-devolved areas.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
We have not made a direct estimate of the level of funding required for Leicester and Leicestershire to ensure comparable performance with Mayoral Strategic Authorities as they carry out different roles and responsibilities and as a result are funded in different way.
Areas undergoing Local Government Reorganisation during this multi-year Settlement will need to agree how to divide funding locally, in a sustainable way, and including transitional protections, during the local implementation period. This provides areas with the greatest flexibility to determine appropriate funding arrangements for new unitaries ahead of reorganisation taking place. The government has committed to provide guidance to areas to support making these agreements.
The Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade, to enable more consistent service delivery across the country.
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