Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
The sector is still facing uncertainty and stop-gap financial arrangements until such time as the...
Conclusion
The sector is still facing uncertainty and stop-gap financial arrangements until such time as the longer-term reforms are put in place. The sector is once again faced with a single-year settlement for the 2022–23 finance year. It has now had three one-year settlements, preceded by a four year settlement full of short-term funding initiatives. The government has proposed six major updates or reforms that could significantly alter the business rates retained by local authorities, business rates themselves, the way funding is distributed and the cost of providing adult social care - the service local authorities spend most on. While the spending review provided a final decision and a clear timescale for business rates revaluation, the remaining reforms are subject to further consideration by Ministers in the Department, the Treasury or the Department of Health and Social Care and will require public consultation. We understand that some support for adult social care will start to flow from April 2022, but it seems clear to us no other changes will be delivered before April 2023 at the very earliest. This prolongs the damaging uncertainty for local government. Although the government needs to take time to 8 Local Government Finance System: Overview and Challenges get the reforms right and ensure alignment with the levelling up agenda and other Ministerial priorities, we have previously recommended that a multi-year settlement be established, nonetheless. This would provide a stable funding environment and act as a bridging mechanism while the Department works on long-term reforms. Unfortunately the Department has again missed this opportunity and will also continue to be hindered by severely outdated funding formulae and its lack of information on services. Recommendation: Alongside its Treasury Minute response to this report, the Department should write to us setting out its plans to support the sector through this interim period.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
2030. To build a credible and evidence-based profile for delivery beyond 2025 in the UK’s dynamic market, the department will need to reach three key milestones: • completion of all remaining market surveys to identify and understand the relevant suppliers’ build plans, including where commercial plans will mean that premises can be descoped from its contracts; • signing a material number of contracts to provide evidence on supplier interest in BDUK’s subsidies and the pace at which they’re committed to deliver their implementation plans; and • achieving sufficient clarity on the number of premises likely to be beyond the scope of the programme. 6.4 BDUK expects these actions to have been completed in order to be ready to form more robust profiles for the period beyond 2025 by Summer 2023. While this work is in progress, BDUK will provide information on the outcome of its procurements when they are signed, sharing the expected delivery plans up to 2025 and beyond for each contracted area. 6.5 In March 2021, a call for evidence was made to explore all possible options for improving broadband connectivity for these Very Hard to Reach premises. The government published its response in February 2022 bringing together its analysis and evidence from stakeholders. 6.6 This evidence will be used to assess policy options to understand how best to address the small minority of premises that will be beyond the scope of the programme and unable to access gigabit-capable connections. The department will publish further details later this year. 6.7 As part of its assessment process, the department will consider all available solutions and technology types. As equipment improves and technology standards are updated, it will continue to engage with stakeholders to understand how these technologies can best address Very Hard to Reach premises. 6.8 The department will address this recommendation in its letter to the Committee. Thirty-Third Report of Session 2021-22 Department for Work & Pensions Underpayments of the State Pension Introduction from the Committee The Department for Work & Pensions (the Department) estimates that it underpaid 134,000 pensioners various sums totalling over £1 billion in State Pension, with errors going back as far as 1985. Of these, 94,000 pensioners are estimated to be alive, which represents approximately 0.9% of those currently claiming the pre-2016 basic State Pension. These official errors affect pensioners who first claimed State Pension before April 2016 and who do not have a full National Insurance record or who should have inherited additional entitlement from their deceased partner. Around 90% of the pensioners underpaid are women because of the types of State Pension claim affected. The Department does not expect to trace over 15,000 of the affected pensioners or their next of kin where the pensioner is deceased. On average, the Department estimates that the approximately 118,000 pensioners it can trace could receive payments averaging around £8,900 by the time the payments are made. So far, the Department has found underpayments of between £0.01 and £128,448.37. The errors were brought to the Department’s attention by individual pensioners and third-party reporting. Most notably Sir Steve Webb, the former Pensions Minister, and Tanya Jefferies of ThisIsMoney.co.uk provided the Department with example cases of underpayment from January 2020. The Department published an estimate of the underpayments in May 2020. The Department started exploring the “potential for error” in basic State Pension from April 2020 and confirmed there was a significant issue in August 2020 when it ran a full scan of its system for people who might be affected. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on Thursday 28 October 2021 from the Department for Work & Pensions. The Committee published its report on 21 January 2022. This is the government’s response to the Committee’s report. Relevant reports • NAO report: Investigation into the underpayment of State Pension – Session 2021-22 (HC 665) • PAC report: Underpayments of the State Pension – Session 2021-22 (HC 654)