Clegg must explain how he intends to localise business rates without pulling the rug from under councils - Flint

Caroline Flint MP, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, responding to Nick Clegg's speech at the LGA Conference, said:

"Nick Clegg must explain how he intends to localise business rates without pulling the rug from beneath the finances of councils in Britain's most deprived areas. If business rates were completely localised, Westminster Council would gain over a billion pounds, the City of London would gain half a billion, but many other areas would lose hundreds of millions in vital funding. 

"Already, those councils that serve Britain's most disadvantaged communities have suffered the worst of the Tory-led Government's cuts. We have seen already how little promises mean to Nick Clegg. Until he sets out in detail exactly how he will ensure that councils won't lose out under the localisation of business rates, we can't take his word seriously."