On 5 February, Kevan spoke in the debate on the Local Government Finance Settlement.
A House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report, published on the same day, noted that local authorities in England have seen their core funding from central government slashed by nearly 50% since 2010/11.
Speaking in the debate, Kevan said:
“Since 2010, Durham County Council has lost £224 million in its budget, and it is predicted that in the next four years it will have to slash another £39 million. That is being done by a Conservative Government, but I do not want to let the Liberal Democrats off, because they also signed up to these cuts when they were in coalition.
“The Government are taking political decisions about where the funding goes. There is this notion among those on the Government Benches that somehow every single council is the same, but I am sorry, they are not. The demands on my local council […] in respect of adult social care and looked-after children are a lot more severe than the demands in some of the areas that are getting extra funding.”
To read Kevan’s speech in full, as well as the rest of the debate, click here: http://bit.ly/2SaTVog