Angela Rayner Will Pledge To End "Dragon's Den Style" Bidding For Local Authority Funding
Angela Rayner pictured on Downing Street this week (Alamy)
2 min read
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will pledge to "end the Dragon's Den style bidding wars" between local councils in a major speech to local leaders today.
She will set out plans for a new government approach to local council funding in an address to the Local Government Association (LGA) on Thursday afternoon.
The approach taken by Keir Starmer's Government, she will say, is be based on "long term funding" and showing "respect" to councils.
Rayner, who is also Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, will tell local leaders "local government will always have a seat at the table and a voice in our Government", in remarks seen by PoliticsHome.
“You told me you need more stability and certainty to plan for the long term — and we will provide this through long term, integrated funding settlements.
“We will end the dragon’s den style bidding wars between local authorities and instead show you some respect with long term funding, giving you the flexibility to spend it where it is needed," she will say.
Last weekend, new Cabinet Office minister Georgia Gould told PoliticsHome that having councils bid against each other for central government funding had led to “massive waste”.
Gould, who was elected as the Labour MP for Queen’s Park and Maida Vale for the first time on 4 July, said that her experience of leading Camden Council in London had taught her an “enormous amount” about the running of local and national government.
“There are massive funding gaps for councils,” she said.
“But also one of the things that has been really difficult for us is the instability of funding, short term bits of money that we all have to bid against each other. It’s a massive waste spending our time bidding for these tiny pots rather than taking a strategic, long term view alongside councils.”
In a letter to local leaders earlier this week, Rayner said that Westminster had “tightly gripped” control for too long.
“For any area considering it, now is the time to take the plunge and speak to us about how we can work with you to transform your regions,” she said.
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