Written question asked by Mark Simmonds (Conservative) on Wednesday, 2 December 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 December 2009. It was answered by Barbara Follett (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 December 2009 on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Local Government Finance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to ensure the delivery of the £250 million local government efficiency savings referred to in the Department of Health consultation document on Personal Care at Home.

Answer: The Government are investing an unprecedented £450 million in supporting local government to deliver transformation, improvement and efficiency in the three years to 2010-11. With this support, local government has shown the capacity to generate significant levels of efficiency. Since 2004-05, local government has delivered £4.5 billion in efficiency savings. Last year alone, as part of the Government's efficiency drive, local authorities reported a £1.7 billion saving on their £5.5 billion target between 2008-09 and 2010-11. Work is already under way through Total Place and Smarter Government to identify new ways of maintaining high quality local services in a time of public expenditure constraint. And at a time when prices are falling everywhere, local government will be given a 4 per cent. increase in total government grant next year.

Secondary information