House of Lords
Parliament

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In the Lords now, former international development minister Baroness Anelay of St. Johns is opening a debate on disabilities and international development.

She says that the Department for International Development is taking "welcome leadership" in this area.

One billion people worldwide have a disability, she says, and estimates say that 80% of those with disabilities live in developing countries.

Those with disabilities are the "hardest to reach," she says, adding: "too often, international aid does not reach them".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins says the government recognises that law enforcement policing is "not the only answer" to tackling youth violence.

Early intervention is vital and the government provides funding to a number of charities working in this area, such as Redthread, external, she says.

Ms Atkins says £1.4m will be invested in supporting new national police capabilities, and a new police hub will be available next year focusing on disrupting gang criminality online.

She adds that cooperative work with youth mentors is important in being able to assess which new measures should be prioritised.

House of Commons
Parliament

The police funding settlement statement has come to an end.

MPs are now holding a debate on using a public health model to deal with youth violence.

In Scotland, treating knife crime as a public health issue has led to a dramatic drop in stabbings. There have been calls for a similar approach to be taken in order to tackle the recent surge in violent crime in England and Wales.

Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins takes the stand to open the debate.

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Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Sir Ed Davey asks what part of the settlement encourages a public health approach to cutting youth violence, and how it will reduce police work related to those with mental health problems.

Mr Hurd says the entire approach of the serious crime taskforce is based on a public health model, "that is a strategy that is properly funded".

Mental health is a serious issue, he says, and the Mental Health Act review highlighted what needs to change. Relief in police pressures is "one dividend" he wants to see from the additional local investment in mental health services announced in the Budget.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Chair of the Home Affairs Committee Yvette Cooper says "there is not a real terms increase in police funding" and asks what impact he believes this grant will have to the number of charges and summons.

Mr Hurd says the "settlement enables an additional investment of up to £970m in policing", and £509m of this "could come from Police and Crime Commissioners if all use their precept flexibility".

The critical thing, he adds, is to "increase the capacity of the police and particularly the lack of detectives".

House of Commons
Parliament

Minister Nick Hurd says he understands that being a shadow minister means sometimes "pushing the point", but Ms Haigh has "lost all proportion".

Labour doubled council taxes, he says, so they cannot accuse the government of shifting the cost onto local communities. The reality is that most police funding comes through central funding, he states.

The opposition voted against the additional funding provided by last year's police settlement he says, and now they are rejected on that has even greater potential.

"This might be the moment to put the tribal politics aside," he says, "both sides want to see increased resources."

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow policing minister Louise Haigh says ministers have refused to recognise their part in causing the increasing demands faced by police forces.

She says today's settlement represents a ninth consecutive year of "real-terms cuts" to central government funding of the police.

She adds today's announcement of more money to cover pensions does not cover predicted costs previously announced by ministers.

The "vast majority" of the increase to the settlement, she says, will come from rises to council tax - which she calls "perverse" and "fundamentally unfair".

Different forces will find themselves able to raise "hugely different amounts", she says, which she calls a "post code lottery".

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Police Minister Nick Hurd says next year's funding settlement "could see" police funding rise by up to £970m for 2019/20.

This includes £161m extra in government grants next year instead of a "flat" increase, he says - with funding for every police commissioner protected in real terms.

There will also be additional grant funding of £150m to cover "unexpected" contributions from police forces to public pensions since 2016.

Just over £500m, he says, could be provided by the new powers for police commissioners to raise extra revenue from council tax - which was announced this morning.

Local police commissioners will have to "make the case" to raising this extra tax, and be "accountable for delivering a return" on the money, he says.

He calls the package the "biggest investment in front-line policing since 2010", although he notes police forces are under "real pressure".

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That's the debate on council funding finished, Police Minister Nick Hurd will now announce the police funding settlement statement.

The settlement sets out police funding for the next year, and has been much awaited with some blaming police cuts for rises in serious violent crime.

This announcement has also been delayed, having been planned for earlier this month.

Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire has already announced this morning that police forces in England and Wales will be able to raise more money through council tax next year.

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers are now holding a debate on current constitutional challenges within the United Kingdom.

Opening the debate, Labour peer Lord Foukes of Cumnock says it's a "relief" to be debating a constitutional issue that isn't Brexit.

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Liberal Democrat local government spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse says she is "disappointed" by the settlement announcement today, as "it really offers nothing".

She says the problem is that a lot of council funding is now made up of council tax, "and the funding of council tax is so unfair".

Ms Hobhouse calls for "a re-evaluation" so that the occupants of properties worth £300,000 in one area are not paying the same amount of council tax as a property worth £100,000 in another area.

Mr Brokenshire says "we take account of the differentials in council tax and how the grant is applied".

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP MP Drew Hendry says the UK government has failed to match the Scottish government's funding for local authorities by £50m.

He says the "shambolic" rollout of Universal Credit is putting pressure on Scottish councils, and calls for those councils that have suffered to be reimbursed.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire says he is "sorry" if Mr Hendry does not recognise the contribution that the UK government is making to Scottish councils.

He reminds Mr Hendry that the Scottish government also has "a high responsibility over local councils" in Scotland.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Over in the Lords, Labour peer Lord West of Spithead has asked about the consequences of delays to Crossrail on the cost of the HS2 rail project.

HS2 is costing a huge amount of money "when there's not a lot around", he says.

He questions whether increasing capacity on the West Cost Mainline is more important than other issues, such as finding a replacement for the Galileo satellite system or defence funding.

Transport minister Lord Young of Cookham says an updated estimate of costs will be published next year.

It's right to go ahead with the project, it is expensive but the phase one funding has not increased, he tells peers.

Labour's Lord Adonis, who chaired the National Infrastructure Commission, says both HS2 and HS3 are vital in improving "intercity inter-connectivity", not just between London and elsewhere but also between cities in the north of England.

"We should not have to choose between them", he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow communities and local government secretary Andrew Gwynne says that "under resourcing" of local government has "exacerbated" problems facing the sector.

"Not all areas are the same, some areas have greater deprivation, greater poverty," he says, and these areas "have fronted the heaviest cuts".

He says that the government's response is to hand that burden to local councils.

"The richest parts of this country will be able to raise sufficiently more" for public services, he adds.

"There's nothing new" he states, saying that James Brokenshire has "reannounced" some elements in this year's Budget.

"Brokenshire today delivered another broken promise," he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire says council core funding will increase from £45.1 billion in 2018/19 to £46.4 billion in 2019/20 - an increase of 2.8%.

"We have been listening and acting on what we hear," he says.

He also says the rural service delivery grant will increase by £16 million in 2019/20 to "maintain this at last year's level".

There will be no change to the amount by which councils can raise income tax after holding a referendum on it, he says.

An agreement with the Home Office to allow police and crime commissioners to increase their portion of council tax by an extra £24 per household will help them tackle "changing demands", he says.

Mr Brokenshire expresses concern at councils borrowing for commercial purposes, saying they "risk local authorities, and are exposing local taxpayers too".

He says his department is working with the Treasury on whether "further intervention is required".

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That's the business statement finished.

Local Government Secretary James Brokenshire is now giving a statement on the provisional local government finance settlement - the yearly determination of funding to local authorities.

The settlement was was supposed to be published last week, but was delayed due to the planned vote - also now delayed - on the Brexit deal.

Local government budgets have been a hot political issue in recent years, with Northamptonshire County Council twice going bust and others also reportedly under considerable funding pressure.

This year's settlement is the final of the four-year deal agreed in 2016, although it will also include allocations of the additional £650m for social care announced in the Budget.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Conservative Dame Cheryl Gillan asks what the government is doing about Interserve, the outsourcing company which said earlier this month it is seeking a rescue deal.

The government has offered reassurance over the state of the company.

Civil service chief executive John Manzoni says that Interserve is a "fundamentally a sound company", and has done "refinancing" this year.

With that, the committee session comes to an end.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Philip Davies says he voted against Theresa May at last night's confidence vote, but accepts she won it "fair and square" and he will support her.

He asks Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom to assure MPs that a full debate on the Brexit deal will restart when the deal comes back to Parliament.

He adds that given the number of MPs that wanted to speak during the debate, "more than five days" should be allocated to a discussion of the deal.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom says the decision about the length of the debate "will depend on what the prime minister comes back with".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Jess Phillips raises the cases of Tory MPs Andrew Griffiths and Charlie Elphicke, who had the party whip returned to them ahead of the confidence vote in Theresa May.

Charlie Elphicke was suspended last November after allegations of sex offences against him emerged - which he denies.

Andrew Griffiths resigned as small business minister in July after lewd messages sent to two women were published in a newspaper.

"What message does this send that any process [in Parliament] can be trusted?", she asks.

"What matters more - political power or protecting victims of sexual harassment and abuse?"

Andrea Leadsom says she is "absolutely committed" to changing the culture of Parliament.

A process has been undertaken and a decision made by the chief whip, she says, adding: "this is not something I'm privy to".