Local Government Finance: Foreign Workers

Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on the funding formula used to fund local services in light of the increase in migrant workers in some rural communities following recent EU enlargements.

John Healey
We have worked closely with local government, HM Treasury and other departments during CSR07 to identify all pressures over the next three years and the ways that they can be managed. We have been able to provide a fair and affordable settlement for local government in a tight spending round, providing an average real terms increase of 1 per cent. per year over the next three years.

When we calculated the distribution of formula grant between all authorities in England, we used the best data that were available on a consistent basis for all authorities and were available at the time.

In addition to formula grant, we have already announced a £50 million fund to address community cohesion. That money is there to help local authorities respond to their own particular challenges—including issues relating to migration.