• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • LATIF
  • Conferences
  • Dashboard
  • Edit My Profile
  • Log In
  • Logout
  • Register
  • Edit this post

Room 151

  • 151 BRIEF

    What's New?

  • Social care workforce crisis ‘requires government intervention’

    August 15, 2022

  • Consultation opens on future of IFRS 9 statutory override

    August 12, 2022

  • EAPF criticised for water company investments

    August 10, 2022

  • Welsh pension fund confirms £50m investment in clean energy

    August 10, 2022

  • Inflation ‘disastrous’ for local services, warns LGA

    August 10, 2022

  • Consultation opens into care charging reforms

    August 9, 2022

  • Treasury
  • Technical
  • Funding
  • Resources
  • LGPS
  • Development
  • 151 News
  • Blogs
    • David Green
    • Agent 151
    • Dan Bates
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Sheen
    • James Bevan
    • Steve Bishop
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • David Crum
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O’Donnell
    • Jackie Shute
  • Interviews
  • Briefs

Devolution agenda is “delegating Treasury cuts”

0
  • by Colin Marrs
  • in Resources
  • — 15 Oct, 2015

The government’s financial devolution agenda to local authorities is an “iron fist in a velvet glove” according to Labour’s communities spokesman Jon Trickett.

Trickett, speaking in the Commons debate on the second reading of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, criticised the government for making local government more dependent on central government.

He also said that the bill should contain more detail on how equalisation of business rates would work under new proposals to allow councils to retain all income from the levy.

Trickett said: “The truth is that the Secretary of State is not devolving financial power, or any power. He is delegating Treasury cuts. What the government give in pennies, they take back in pounds.”

He said that the bill lacked measures to introduced financial autonomy and fresh financial arrangements for councils.

“Anything that pretends to offer devolution with one hand while retaining the power to control finances with the other is nothing more than an iron fist in a velvet glove,” he said.

Trickett also called on more information from the government on how redistribution of business rate income between the poorest and richest areas would work.

During an intervention, Conservative MP Bob Neill said that equalisation could take place on a sub-national basis.

“If, as I hope is the case, we see combined authorities and other authorities voluntarily pooling their business rate receipts because that makes sense, particularly if the combined authorities are to be based upon natural economic units so that the development area is not likely to be in the area of one single constituent authority but within the combined authority, the logic then for pooling business rates is all the more enhanced.”

He said that the move could provide critical mass enabling councils to borrow against the income.

The bill passed its second reading following a vote.

Share

You may also like...

  • Don’t let council-owned companies spin out of control 30th Jun, 2021
  • Room151 panel backs unitary councils and devolution 8th Feb, 2021
  • PFI, the end of LIBOR and the arrivel of SONIA 26th Oct, 2021
  • Impact Awards: The winners are revealed 1st Jul, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • 151 BRIEFS – WHAT’s NEW?

    • Social care workforce crisis ‘requires government intervention’
    • Consultation opens on future of IFRS 9 statutory override
    • EAPF criticised for water company investments
    • Welsh pension fund confirms £50m investment in clean energy
    • Inflation ‘disastrous’ for local services, warns LGA
  • Room151’s LGPS Roundtables

    Biodiversity
    Valuations & Risk
    LGPS Women

  • Room151’s LGPS Roundtables

    Biodiversity
    LGPS Women
    Valuations & Risk
  • Latest tweets

    Room151 4 days ago

    LATIF/FDs’ Summit ‘on course to be biggest yet’: Room151’s flagship event – the Local Authority Treasurers Investment Forum (LATIF) and FDs’ Summit – is on course to be the biggest yet, with more than 200 delegates expected. Combining[...] dlvr.it/SWSDrL pic.twitter.com/f8FXzcAdWB

    Room151 4 days ago

    ‘Local government treated worse than any other part of public sector’: Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, talks to Mike Thatcher about lack of progress on levelling up, pork-barrel politics and why local government… dlvr.it/SWRk1L pic.twitter.com/Jpw0BsOsy3

    Room151 5 days ago

    Which LGPS pools and funds are attending the LGPS Investment Forum on Nov 2 & the LGPS Private Markets Forum on Nov 1st? Answer here: lnkd.in/eDHU8tuy pic.twitter.com/D3gd63Rh7F

    Room151 6 days ago

    LGPS and levelling up: nothing to fear but fear itself: There have been a number of objections to government plans for LGPS funds to invest 5% of their assets in local projects. But George Graham says these objections can be[...] dlvr.it/SWL7vt pic.twitter.com/ebwBEkZTy4

    Room151 6 days ago

    George Graham @SYpensions @bordertocoast channels his inner FDR in a call for local government pension funds to avoid the fear factor and embrace levelling up #LGPS #localgov room151.co.uk/local-governme…

    Room151 1 week ago

    Changes to rules on capital receipts raise wider questions: Stephen Kitching argues that DLUHC’s latest rule changes are part of a series following on from revisions to MRP guidance and the purchase of commercial property. He questions whether… dlvr.it/SWGqKC pic.twitter.com/Ycr5hWZDPk

    Room151 1 week ago

    ‘No ifs, no buts’: the Bank of England continues its battle with inflation: Partner Content: CCLA Investment Management’s Robert Evans discusses the MPC’s 0.5% increase in the Official Bank Rate and its ongoing commitment to the 2% inflation target… dlvr.it/SW7SNC pic.twitter.com/ryOzYRSNA9

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    DLUHC changes rules on flexible use of capital receipts: The levelling up secretary has written to all council leaders to amend the rules concerning the flexible use of capital receipts to fund transformation projects. In his letter, Greg Clark[...] dlvr.it/SW3jyX pic.twitter.com/KEhSSaMITl

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    Local audit and financial reporting: let’s take back control: Mazars’ Suresh Patel suggests three steps that auditors and council finance teams should take to help get financial reporting and local audit back on track. Following my recent appearance… dlvr.it/SW0PfV pic.twitter.com/miL7pjukce

  • Register to become a Room151 user

  • Previous story News Roundup: Pensions partnership, Icelandic losses recovered, Northern Ireland finances, coal investments
  • Next story Lancs claims a first for wind farm investment

© Copyright 2022 Room 151. Typegrid Theme by WPBandit.

0 shares