Local Government Finance

The increase in Bolton is something like £13 million in the coming year. That is a significant amount of money, as my hon. Friend will recognise. The application of the funding formula requires a floor mechanism to regulate the pace of change towards the target that the formula produces. It has been widely discussed, and he is perfectly right to produce anomalies or examples that he thinks are unfair to his constituency. However, I do not accept that they are anomalies, as the system for regulating the pace at which we move towards target is broadly agreed across the House. I am pleased that his authority has been able to benefit this year from a significant amount of money.