00:00London boroughs are collectively facing a funding shortfall of at least £500 million for the current financial year.
00:06But despite this, the money allocated to local authorities in London by the Government Spending Review fell 35% short of the amount requested by London councils.
00:15Now, under the Government's planned changes to local authority funding, the two councils in my constituency, Richmond and Kingston, are set to lose out even more, while the cost of funding local services continues to rise.
00:25Is it the Government's policy that London residents should continue to receive ever-increasing Council tax bills, while their local authorities have less and less money to spend?
00:37Deputy Prime Minister.
00:38Mr Speaker, what I would say is that we're fixing the foundations of local government after 14 years of austerity that was inflicted with the aiding and abetting of her party on local government.
00:50And perhaps we're putting record funding into local government and multi-year settlements to help them.
00:54We're helping local government where they ruined it.
