Question
I welcome the announcement in this statement that the Minister has scrapped the disgraceful and discourteous announcement made in July 2026. He is right to throw it out, but my constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme want and deserve certainty and clarity, and I did not hear much of that in the statement, so may I ask the Minister three very quick questions? Will he confirm how Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent MPs will feed into the review? How much money will our local authorities get to redress what they have spent so far? And may I urge him to focus on the new mayoral authority announced yesterday, because that has the support needed to achieve a change of this scale?
Answer
Obviously, we were delighted to announce the devolution agreement yesterday. That will definitely bring new resources and powers to my hon. Friend’s area, but it has to be built on a strong foundation of local government that can be sustained. As for how MPs can engage, the “minded to” process for when decisions are issued gives us a window in which MPs and other interested parties can make representations.25% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (36/100)
The reply clearly sets out one route for MPs to feed into the review, through the 'minded to' process that gives interested parties a chance to make representations. It does not address the question about reimbursing the spending councils have already incurred, offering only general statements about new resources and a sustainable local government foundation. On the question of whether the devolution deal will change the mayoral arrangements, it engages only vaguely and never says whether the mayoral authority will be the vehicle, so the person who asked would likely need to follow up for specifics.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| How Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent MPs will feed into the review. | Addressed | Direct | The reply names a concrete mechanism for MP involvement, the 'minded to' process, which gives MPs and other interested parties a window to make representations, and this directly answers how Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent MPs can feed into the review. |
| How much money local authorities will receive to redress the spending they have incurred so far. | Not Addressed | Generic | The reply says the devolution deal will bring new resources and powers and stresses a sustainable local government foundation, but it gives no figure or mechanism for redressing the spending local authorities have already incurred. |
| Whether the Government will focus on the new mayoral authority announced the previous day as the vehicle for achieving the change. | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply engages with the devolution agreement announced the previous day and says it will bring resources and powers, but it never states whether the mayoral authority will be the vehicle for the change and only gestures at a conditional 'strong foundation' requirement. |