Speeches by McMahon.

“I can absolutely assure the hon. Member that we are working through those issues, and we will consult the sector on them. Given all the variations that we will take into account, I hope Members accept that we have listened. We know that the funding formula is out of date and that for it to stand the test it must apply …”

“This month, we are consulting on an updated assessment of need that we will implement from 2026-27. Importantly, that includes the indices of multiple deprivation, a designated national statistic, and it will drill down to deprivation levels of between 400 and 1,200 households in each of those units. Our intention is t…”

“We are laying the groundwork now, ahead of the provisional settlement, which will be the first multi-year settlement in over a decade and will deal with a lot of the structural issues. If it is any help, the Government understand and accept that it is not right or acceptable for councils that have done everything that …”

“The questions that have been raised demonstrate why the fair funding review is needed, and why it has to take into account all the different factors that have an impact on whether councils can provide good public services or not. I appreciate, understand and accept that pressures that were previously felt in inner Lond…”

“I did my best to outline the range of different funding available to local churches and places of worship; this fund is just one of a number. On my hon. Friend’s particular point about the continuation of the fund, Members will appreciate that any matter of future funding is a matter for the spending review, and every …”

“What I can say is that the passion, enthusiasm and commitment shown by all Members here today in talking about the importance of these places of worship—not only the historical status they give to a place in terms of belonging and sense of pride, but how they act as a community anchor for the future—is absolutely appre…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. Good morning to everybody in the Chamber. I thank the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) for securing the debate and the Second Church Estates Commissioner, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova), for the significant work that …”

“Well, what does good look like? The vast majority of councils, in the vast majority of cases, are able to stand on their own two feet and they are sustainable in their own right. The number of councils that come to us for exceptional support are absolutely exceptional and around the edges. It is a result of not the und…”

“Well, to a point, how long is a piece of string? There are lots of moving parts to the system. I will not repeat what I have said already about the number of moving parts, but the hope and expectation is that, by the end of this Parliament—so at the end of the multi-year settlement—the councils will be on a sustainable…”

“That will always be the case until we address the foundational problems in local government finance.”

“Nico can talk about the technical assessment that is done, because it is not just about whether we have a willingness to help. There is a full financial and technical assessment made of the local authority—obviously, CIPFA has a role in that assessment. The Treasury obviously has a keen interest in exceptional financia…”

“We do not quite choose the councils as much as they choose themselves. The EFS process was really about offering councils an early conversation. Rather than waiting and holding back until you find yourself in distress and after a 114, it is far better that you speak to the Department early so that we can work together …”

“And two have envoys.”

“It is less about the cost and more about what purpose it is trying to serve. If councils need direction and specialist support, we should provide that specialist support. If all we had before was to take over key parts of the council to achieve that, it was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut in some cases. The en…”

“I am not sure I know most of the numbers on things like that off the top of my head, but I will go back and check that. We have taken a very pragmatic approach on commissioners. You will see that there have been a number of best value interventions and notices removed. Liverpool is one example, but we have also removed…”

“No, because that would be giving you the answer, which I am not allowed to do. We absolutely understand the pressures that councils are facing, and also that a cliff-edge approach does not work for central Government any more than it works for local government.”

“There are live conversations now about how we deal with that. I cannot go into detail about what the end will be, other than to say that we absolutely understand, first, the financial pressures that the DSG deficit is placing on local authorities, and that if that whole liability were to transfer to local government as…”

“Agreed.”

“If it worked, there probably should be an overlay. The multi-year settlement will allow councils to plan for the medium term for the first time in a decade. In that planning and being able to step back from the immediacy of setting an annual budget that just holds, there will be councils that say, “Actually, over that …”

“Councils are all in different positions. There definitely will be examples of councils that have sold everything they can sell, by and large. The libraries have gone, the youth centres have gone, the Sure Start centres have gone. Any kind of low-hanging fruit in terms of operational premises, like depots, have been rat…”