Local Government Finance

That is not my understanding of what the hon. Member for Richmond Park said—I will read Hansard. I believe that the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne agrees with my point that we need to move more quickly towards the formula funding, so that each local authority gets the grant that it is entitled to under that formula. I welcome that agreement, as it is very important that that happens as quickly as possible. The pace of change is vital to local authorities if we are to achieve things. Finally, I welcome the confirmation of the settlement, which I hope will make local authority funding more effective and better in future. The three-year settlement builds on 10 years of growth in funding and allows local authorities to plan. Because of all the things that the Government have done over the past 12 years, local government is in a much better place than in 1997 when we came into power.