HC Deb 21 November 1977 vol 939 cc1076-9
9. Mr. D. E. Thomas

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the distribution of the rate support grant for 1977–78 for each county; and if he will indicate the gain or loss of resources to each county, as compared with 1976–77.

Mr. Alec Jones

I am circulating the information in theOfficial Report.

Mr. Thomas

Will the Minister confirm that there has been no reduction in the level of rate support grant resources being made available to the county of Clwyd, which covers part of my constituency and now has an unemployment rate of 12 per cent., the highest in Wales? Any reduction in rate support grant to this county would mean that the county was unable to undertake the short-term anti-unemployment measures now proposed.

Mr. Alec Jones

The rate support grant settlement has been looked at in totality for the coming year. We have examined its three elements. Under the domestic element, we have retained the differential of 36p in the pound in Wales as opposed to the 18½p in England. Without that, average domestic rate bills in Wales would have increased by 31 per cent. The resources element is of the same order. But there has been some marginal relative worsening in the needs element, though not in the actual cost, because all councils in Wales have increased the total even in the needs element.

Mr. Anderson

On the basis of this settlement, can my hon. Friend give an estimate of the average rate increase for Welsh ratepayers in the next year?

Mr. Alec Jones

On the basis of the settlement itself, it is not expected that rates in Wales or England need rise by more than single figures. But it is not only the settlement that will affect the level of individual rate bills. The level of those bills will be affected by policy decisions taken by the local authorities, by the amounts of expenditure they will undertake and also by the extent to which they are prepared to draw on their balances.

Sir Raymond Gower

Is the Minister aware of fears expressed in some quarters that the Government's natural concern about the problems of the great metropolitan areas may induce them to overlook some of the peculiar difficulties of the widespread rural areas such as parts of Wales? Will he always keep this very much in mind?

Mr. Alec Jones

Yes, I certainly have such factors in mind. The rate support grant settlement is based on criteria by which we have attempted to discover those areas in England and Wales in the greatest need. All Members will appreciate that the regression analysis formula used may not be perfect, but it is an attempt to discover areas of genuine need and ensure that the rate support grant settlement meets those needs.

Mr. Nicholas Edwards

I appreciate the problems of the inner cities, but is it not a consequence of the Government's policy over last year and this that both Welsh local government, through the rate support grant, and regional policy have been impoverished? Is the Minister satisfied with the system of regression analysis? Can it be right that the industrial areas of South Wales and the rural areas of Wales, with their problems of declining population and unemployment, may lose resources to the inner centres and that their needs are less than those of the metropolitan areas?

Mr. Alec Jones

As I said earlier, one has to look at the totality of the matter and not concentrate on one aspect of it. At the end of the day, the settlement is designed to achieve a relative degree of stability in the coming year as opposed to this year. If the hon. Gentleman takes into account the fact that the total Exchequer support for local authority expenditure in Wales is about 75 per cent. whilst in England it is 61 per cent., I think that he will agree that we have made a reasonable and fair settlement.

Following is the information:

RATE SUPPORT GRANT: WALES
The total of rate support grant, including domestic, resources and needs elements, to each county area in Wales in 1976–77 and 1977–78 and the change between years, is shown below. For comparison purposes the figures shown are those resulting from the main Rate Support Grant Order for those years.
County Area 1976–77 1977–78 Absolute Difference (3–2) Percentage Difference
1 2 3 4 5
£000 £000 £000 Per cent.
Clwyd … … … 56,442 58,738 +2,296 +4.07
Dyfed … … … 52,912 53,456 +544 +1.03
Gwent … … … 68,082 72,569 +4,487 +6.59
Gwynedd … … … 37,503 38,399 +896 +2.39
Mid Glamorgan … … … 100,293 102,345 +2,052 +2.05
Powys … … … 22,212 23,152 +940 +4.23
South Glamorgan … … … 55,608 56,383 +775 +1.39
West Glamorgan … … … 58,880 58,839 -41 -0.07
TOTAL … … … 451,932 463,881 11,949 +2.64