Speeches by McMahon.

“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 is not to say that we are not supporting councils. The relationship that we have developed is one of collaboration, and we are constantly reviewing our approach to support and intervention. There are councils that will have best value notices issued, because we do have concerns about governance and finances in som…”

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

“Our view is that the funding settlement of more than £69 billion is enough as a bridging settlement, if you like, to take us to the multi-year settlement. The challenge that we all have is to make sure that by the end of the multi-year settlement, given how much churn is in the system—because we have the needs and reso…”

“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…”

“That is slightly different from the tourism tax, in the way that it has been requested in other parts.”

“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 …”

“They are slightly different things. The business improvement district, which is done thorough a localised referendum, is a route that is available to areas today. There are live BIDs that have come through the system since we have been in Government.”

“And two have envoys.”

“We have moved on to more mayoral strategic authorities being created, not more tourism tax authorities. The point was more about capitalising on the investment in the new theme park—a strategic footprint that really draws in the economic impact of that.”

“That is certainly a fair case to make in terms of the economic impact that that investment will have, and it should be capitalised. With more co-ordination across that sub-region, that feels better. I should say, though, that there is no reason why local authorities in that area cannot do that now, with a foundation ag…”

“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…”

“Maybe we do not start at the same point, but I think we finish at the same point, which is that there are arguments for a levy, and some of them are quite strong. The fact that there are voluntary schemes in place says that in some parts of the country—but not all—there is a coming together of local political leadershi…”

“That is why I made it a priority. For me, a lot of this work is not like retail, politically—most people, when they are speaking over breakfast, do not talk about local government audit—but everyone on this Committee knows how important it is as the foundation of good public services. If you do not know where the money…”

“Our view is the Treasury’s view, but we do reflect that there are particular mayors and cities making the case for an overnight visitor levy or tourism tax, and a number of voluntary schemes are already active around the country. However, it is a matter for mayors and local authorities to make the case, and for HMT to …”

“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…”

“Well, on issues like this—”

“From my perspective, “low cost” is not the way to frame it; I think “best value” is the way to frame it. If all we do is look at the underlying cost, we end up in a situation, like 10 years ago, where local authorities withdraw from the direct provision of residential care for children and go to the private sector beca…”

“Ultimately, any tax like that is a decision for the Treasury, not for our Department.”

“Council tax in most areas is far in excess of what a local council spends on neighbourhood universal services anyway, just because of the amount of council tax that is now generated. In terms of the notional attachment or hypothecation of council tax to universal services, with central Government then funding targeted …”