§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the 10 most indebted local authorities in(a) 1997 and (b) 1998, indicating the cost (i) in total and (ii) per council tax payer of servicing the debt; and what plans he has to ensure that the debt level is reduced. [85776]
§ Ms ArmstrongThe available information is given in the table. The cost of servicing the debt has been defined in terms of external interest paid by local authorities in the financial year 1997–98. It should be noted that authorities with high levels of debt are generally those which have undertaken capital investment and that longer term borrowing to finance capital expenditure is regulated by Government through the issue of credit approvals, for which support is provided through the Standard Spending Assessment mechanism.
It is for local authorities to determine arrangements for the prudent management and repayment of debt. We are currently examining options for encouraging earlier debt redemption.
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Local authority1 Total external interest payment 2 £ million) External interest payments per adult3 (£) Birmingham 109.1 145 Manchester 115.9 370 Lambeth 78.4 386 Islington 88.0 640 Sheffield 77.7 187 Liverpool 75.3 214 Leeds 64.3 114
Local authority1 Total external interest payments 2 (£ million) External interest payment per adult 3 (£) Southwark 71.8 415 Hackney 59.4 421 Tower Hamlets 63.6 496 1 10 authorities with highest level of outstanding debt as at 31 March 1997 2 Source: Revenue Summary (RS) outturn form for 1997/98. 3 Data on the number of council taxpayers is not readily available. The figures are based on the number of resident adults, mid-year 1997 population estimates.