Alison McGovern
MP for Birkenhead · Labour · United Kingdom
“As part of that work, we expect all integrated care boards to complete a needs assessment so that we can get a detailed understanding of their current and future population, including people of all ages with palliative care and end-of-life needs.”
“Not for the first time this week, I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds). He and I agree that we will all act according to our conscience and respect others if they come to a different conclusion.”
“Members and friends will know that in July, I lost my own mum, so I had a very practical education in this topic, and that experience will shape how I take this work forward. To conclude, I thank all hon. Members once again for all they have said.”
“The issue of assisted dying has been subject to extensive and detailed consideration over a number of years, most recently in this House and the other place in the previous Session, as well as outside Parliament.”
“I also respect my hon. Friend and, though it was not a point of order, the House will have heard what she said. I am attempting to address the points that have been raised in the debate, particularly on procedural matters, on social care and palliative care, which I turn to now.”
“On that basis, we would provide technical support to the promoter if Parliament chooses to progress the Bill. That said, I will repeat the comments made by the right hon. Member for East Hampshire from the Opposition Dispatch Box, which I now say on behalf of the Government.”
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“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. We are undertaking a once-in-a-generation reorganisation of local government. We have now received proposals from all areas, and from councils across the political spectrum. For decades, the two-tier council system, where it still exists, has made local government more complicated and more bureaucratic than it needs to be. This Government are bold enough to change that. We will put in place single-tier councils everywhere by the end of this Parliament. That will mean faster local decisions to build homes and grow our towns and cities.”
“We are listening to councils’ views about their capacity in the context of local government reorganisation. Finally, the right hon. Gentleman asked when the Secretary of State will make decisions. We have moved quickly to get these representations from councils, and the Secretary of State will make a decision as soon as he possibly can.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for making those points, which I will certainly relay to the Secretary of State so that he can take them under advisement. We wrote to notify the Electoral Commission, and we are grateful for its ongoing engagement. We will certainly have regard to all views and representations made, including those of the Electoral Commission, but this is fundamentally about local councils and their capacity, and that is why we have asked for representations from them. The right hon. Gentleman asked about the Gould principle. That principle is underpinned by the need for certainty, so if there are technical changes, those responsible for the delivery of elections have time to adapt, but this is not about technical changes.”
“We have reconnected council funding with deprivation, and I am anxious to make sure that all local authorities move towards financial sustainability. I look forward to discussing that with my hon. Friend’s Committee further.”
“My hon. Friend mentions how important it is for elections to take place. As she knows, large numbers of people will be voting in May. We are talking about a relatively discrete number of local authorities undergoing reorganisation. She asked when the Secretary of State will make the decision. He will do that as soon as he possibly can, and we have set out the further information that we have asked for. My hon. Friend also asked about resources. This is really important, because the whole point of reorganisation is to ensure that we use our resources in the best way possible. It bears repeating, as I have done on many occasions in this House, that local authorities bore the brunt of austerity.”
“I thank the hon. Lady for powering through, despite commentary from the Opposition Front Bench. She asks about the importance of democracy. It is, of course, very important. The vast majority of elections are going ahead next year. A huge number of people will be voting. It is important that that principle is stuck to. We will take the decisions based on the evidence and the precedent I set out in response to other Members.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for the views he expresses, which I will be certain to pass on to the Secretary of State as he takes his decision. In the statement before Christmas, I set out the kind of evidence we are looking for. That is the kind of thing we will take into consideration.”
“We have made progress on the reorganisation and I anticipate us making strong progress this year. I hear the points that the right hon. Gentleman makes about his own views. Those will be taken account of, alongside other views expressed.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Coming from an area with a unitary council and a combined authority that is taking steps to improve public transport and other things, I appreciate fully the points he makes and I will pass them on to the Minister for Devolution, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh).”
“The hon. Gentleman mentions a legal process that I am not at liberty to comment on in detail. We want elections to go ahead, unless there is a strong justification. That is what we have said and that is what we will stick to.”
“Given the number of times buses have been raised with me when I have been door-knocking during elections, I am surprised that they do not lead the news more often. I congratulate my hon. Friend on her efforts to get decent bus services for her constituents, and would say to any local authority that if it wants to engage with residents on the things they care about, buses should be top of the list.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for the points he raises. I have set out the way in which we are consulting with local authorities, and the Secretary of State will take the decision accordingly.”
“I do not know about agreeing with the right hon. Member for Newark, but I certainly agree with my hon. Friend, who gets to the point we are trying to make. We are acting in accordance with precedent. She makes that point very well.”
“Potholes are probably second only to buses in the list of important issues. We will not have any undue delays. The Secretary of State will have more to say quite soon.”
“My hon. Friend is right, of course: elections are taking place up and down the country. I am sure there are lots of people who are looking forward to participating.”
“Let me thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I do not agree with him on the substantive point he makes, but I have heard his views and will pass them on to the Secretary of State.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for relaying the words of Councillor Kevin Bentley, whom it has been a pleasure to meet on a number of occasions. Getting a clear position is obviously important. We will do that quickly, and the Secretary of State will — [ Interruption. ] I don’t know; there may have been more context than that one quote, but the Secretary of State—”
“No, you’re fine. The Secretary of State will take into account those representations and others, and make a decision without any undue delay.”
“We are in regular contact with local authorities. The Department and the Secretary of State will have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said, and we will make sure that those views are fed in.”
“Again, we have moved quickly. We are getting the information that we need, and the Secretary of State will move as quickly as he can to take the decision. It is good to know that we have Members with extensive experience in the House. I thank the hon. Gentleman for all that he has done down the years.”
“I have said on a number of occasions that we want the elections to go ahead unless there is a justified reason. The hon. Gentleman makes his point on behalf of his constituents, in the context of reorganisation. I will take that under advisement as we move forward.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind question. I hope that at that point I might be doing something other than politics, and perhaps I might not quite have time.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question, which I take in the serious terms in which it was meant. The vast majority of elections are going ahead. It is very important that people have their say. I hope that he will appreciate, as I have set out previously, the reason we have taken these steps and the manner in which we will take the decision, but he makes a very important point about the centrality of democracy, which I take seriously.”
“As I have said to other Members, where councils want to go ahead, and they have the capacity and there are no issues, that is fine. Elections go ahead unless there is a strong justification for them not to, which is what I— [ Interruption. ] Where councils want the elections to go ahead, that is fine. We will listen to what they have to say. The issue that the hon. Member raises about funding and capacity is an important one, not least in a place as unique as the Isle of Wight. We are currently in a process of considering the local government finance settlement, and he will know that we are working very hard to get that right.”
“Elections will be happening up and down this country in May. We are committed to democracy and it is very important that people have their say.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for the attention and care that he gives to these issues. He gives me the opportunity to come back to the underlying reason for this whole process, which is reorganisation to get councils in a good position. In those areas that are undergoing reorganisation, once we have got the new institutions set up, which we are doing without delay, people will be able to elect representatives to those new institutions. That is what happened when we had reorganisation previously—as has been mentioned, this process has been gone through recently—and it will mean that people can elect their councillors, and have their say about the kind of public services they want in their area.”
“We have invited views from Thurrock, Basildon and other councils undergoing local government reorganisation about their capacity to deliver local government reorganisation alongside elections. This is a locally-led approach. Councils are best placed to judge their capacity, and we will consider their representations carefully.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and for raising those points on behalf of his residents. We will consider the representations that have been made, alongside precedent and the legal requirements in this area, and we will take very seriously the points he raises on behalf of his constituents.”
“The Government are making good on long-overdue promises to fundamentally update the way that we fund local authorities. We are re-aligning funding with need and deprivation through the first multi-year local government finance settlement in a decade. The provisional 2026-27 settlement will make available almost £78 billion in core spending power for local authorities in England. For Greater Manchester authorities, it makes available up to £3.92 billion in core spending power in 2026-27, an increase of 16.4% compared to 2024-25, which is a real-terms increase.”
“As I have said in this Chamber a number of times, we can provide substantial increases to councils, as we need to, and it is very important that we do in places like Manchester, but unless we have a more preventive approach—for example, unless we stop children being taken into care, or stop councils facing really big challenges—councils will still face spiking costs. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and colleagues across Greater Manchester on making that work.”
“I have heard what the hon. Member has said, and will take it as a contribution to the consultation that we are having. She mentions the needs of children; she will have heard me say to colleagues that we have to change the way that we work on this issue. I will happily work with her to ensure that we cut the costs and get better outcomes for our kids.”
“I thank the hon. Member for his input. We have set out the process that we will undertake. We will judge the proposals from Devon against the published criteria.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his input on the reorganisation. As I mentioned moments ago, we have set out the process that we will undertake. We will consult fully and judge each proposal against the criteria that we have set out.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her comments on the fair funding review and the recovery grant, which was needed due to the significant damage done to council finances by 14 years of Tory misrule. I have already met scores of colleagues to discuss council funding, and I will meet scores more over the next couple of days. I look forward to talking with my hon. Friend about the proposal she mentions.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the needs of Birmingham residents. They should come first, and everybody deserves a good bin service. We want all parties to come to the table and deal with this as swiftly as humanly possible.”
“I would like to give personal thanks to my hon. Friend for his comments on this issue. In the homelessness strategy, we noted that this problem is extraordinarily challenging and important, and I want to take action on it. I thank him for the work that he has done on behalf of Hartlepool residents. We will continue to work together to sort this problem out.”
“I congratulate the hon. Lady for laying out to the House what sounds like a complicated situation for her constituents. We will take what she says under advisement, as part of the process. I am always happy to make myself available to meet Members of this House.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important issue. One of the reasons why I and the Safeguarding Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), worked closely together on both the homelessness strategy and the violence against women and girls strategy was to ensure that that area of policy joined up—16% of homelessness is caused by domestic abuse. That is why we will not stop until those families leaving refuge have a decent place to be—including the furniture they need—to make a house a home.”
“I thank the hon. Member so much for raising that case on the Floor of the House in the way he did. It shows all the different reasons why people can find themselves without a roof over their head. The local authority should be in the lead in supporting them, but if he wants to contact me with further details, I will ensure that the local authority has the support it needs.”
“I thank the right hon. Lady for raising that on behalf of her constituents. The impact of fly-tipping is clearly a worry to us all. She raises the seriousness of the issue, which I and the Secretary of State also recognise.”
“The hon. Gentleman and I were both in this House for the entire period of austerity, which landed at the door of town halls more than almost anywhere else, so if he wants to look for someone to blame for the parlous state of council finances, I would recommend a mirror.”
“I am working closely with my Department for Work and Pensions colleagues, and we know that there are many problems with affordability in the private rented sector. Ministers have mentioned some of the actions we are taking today, but we will be working with the DWP to do more.”
“I am proud to say that this settlement reconnects council funding with deprivation, and I have already explained the detail of that to the House. We will ensure that all councils are heard during this consultation period, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend as one of my good friends and colleagues from our city region, which is of course the best one in the country, as you know, Mr Speaker.”
“I have heard what the hon. Gentleman has said, and we will take it under advisement as part of the reorganisation process. We want to get on with it so that councils can stabilise their organisation and their finances and get on with delivering for the public.”
“I know that there will be many opinions locally, and he has done an excellent job of representing his constituents this morning. When the time comes to launch the consultation, I know that he will engage with it to make sure that the views of his constituents are fed in. I am grateful to him and keen to hear those opinions. Question put and agreed to.”
“I expect to launch a consultation in early February on the final proposals I received on 28 November, including those from Worcestershire, that seek to meet the terms of the 5 February statutory invitation. That consultation will run for seven weeks. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgments made in the round, having regard to the criteria in the statutory guidance, the consultation responses and any other relevant information. We have heard much more relevant information today and, as I mentioned, that will be taken into account as we proceed. I am grateful to the hon. Member for securing this debate. I know that he has spoken in the House on previous occasions to share his views, and we have heard them. I cannot comment further, but we are grateful that he has put those matters on the record.”
“We have already announced two new unitary authorities for Surrey, and our consultations on the final proposals for a further six areas are due to close on 11 January. As the hon. Member will know, we received proposals for unitary local government from councils in Worcestershire on 28 November. Let me place on record my thanks to local leaders and officers in the Worcestershire councils for their positive approach to collaboration and data sharing to enable the proposals we have received. That collaborative approach will stand the area in good stead in the unitary implementation phase, which is very important for all the reasons that the hon. Member set out. There is shared commitment in the area to get the best possible outcome for the residents, communities and businesses of Worcestershire.”
“We want people to have preventive public services, and we want to give economies the chance to thrive. With single councils in charge over sensible geographies, we will see quicker decisions to build homes, grow our towns and cities, and connect people to jobs. Strong local government is central to tackling deprivation and poverty. People living in neighbourhoods that are high on the index of multiple deprivation deserve responsive and joined-up services that help them reach their full potential. Unfortunately, in too many areas across England, we have multiple levels of confusing and inefficient structures, whereas one council can take responsibility for the places it serves. The Government will deliver unitary local government in all areas of England within this Parliament, and I am really encouraged by the progress we have made so far.”
“For background, I will run through the reasons why we are reorganising local government and why we think that will benefit communities, although the hon. Member will know them already and he raised some of the issues. We want to streamline local government and replace the two-tier system with single unitary councils, precisely in order to create councils that can reform public services, drive economic growth and empower their communities. The hon. Member mentioned the criteria that we set out for doing that. As he said, this is not some bureaucratic exercise or tinkering with lines on a map; these are the biggest reforms to local government for a very long time—the biggest in 50 years, as he pointed out—and we need to make the most of this opportunity.”
“It is a pleasure, as ever, to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) on securing this important debate on local government reorganisation in Bromsgrove and Worcestershire. I know that he has a keen interest in this issue, and we all heard the detailed argument that he made. I acknowledge the arguments, facts and point of view that he explained to us, which are on the record. He will understand that there is a limit to what I can say, given the process that we are undergoing, but I assure him that colleagues in the Department and elsewhere will read and understand what he has said. I thank him for putting forward his point of view.”