§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will announce the details of the transport supplementary grant settlement for 1982–83.
§ Mr. David HowellCounty councils have today been informed of their allocations of transport supplementary grant for 1982–83, which I intend to prescribe in the rate support grant report which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and I shall lay before Parliament for approval early in the new year. I am announcing details of the settlement now so as to enable councils to take my decisions into account in planning their transport budgets for 1982–83.
For the 1982–83 settlement I have decided to accept, in cash terms, a total of £1,631.8 million of local transport expenditure on which grant of £456.9 million will he paid. The accepted expenditure represents a cash increase of about 11 per cent. on the equivalent figure for 1981–82. As in previous years grant will he paid at a rate of approximately 70 per cent. on each county's accepted expenditure above a threshold, which for 1982–83 will he £21.10 per head. As for 1981–82 there will also be a "safety net" threshold, so that all counties will get grant of at least 3 per cent. of their accepted expenditure.
In determining the amounts of accepted expenditure I have considered carefully the transport policies and programme (TPP) submissions made to me by county councils. My principal aim in this year's settlement has been to encourage those councils which are pursuing sensible and realistic transport policies, and thus to ensure both that the available resources go where they will be used to best effect and that expenditure is kept within the public expenditure limits set by the Government.
I am therefore encouraged that a number of councils have limited themselves to bids for current expenditure which fall below the level of expenditure accepted for 1981–82 in real terms. In recognition of their efforts to 331W contain expenditure I have accepted these bids in full. At the same time I have been disturbed by the scale of the revenue support expenditure envisaged by certain counties—mainly metropolitan authorities but including some shires—reflecting a policy of cutting or freezing fares on public transport.
The Government have made it quite clear that they will not allow the TSG to be used to subsidise such extravagance, which can lead only to disproportionate rate increases, with adverse effect for industry and commerce in the areas concerned. For these counties I have accepted for grant only that level of revenue support which assumes that fares are increased realistically in line with costs, and that services are run efficiently. I have also allowed for some real increase in revenue support from the level accepted for the TSG in 1981–82 to help cushion the effects of the recession on receipts.
The additional expenditure resulting from excessive revenue subsidies has pre-empted resources that could have been put to better use. Here again I have sought to safeguard the programmes of authorities who have bid realistically. In particular I have accepted in full the road maintenance bids of 29 county councils.
The White Paper, "Lorries, People and the Environment" (Cmnd. 8439) published on 1 December,
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The Distribution of Transport Supplementary Grant for 1982–83 The following table shows the amount of expenditure accepted for transport suplementary grant for each county, and the amount of grant payable on the accepted expenditure. Table 1 £ million—1982–83 cash price Expenditure Accepted for TSG Revenue Support County Bus etc. Rail Road Maintenance Other Current Capital Total Grant Greater London 89.107 111.830 5.352 196.657 402.946 180.954 Greater Manchester 17.901 18.329 37.504 .403 14.029 88.226 22.839 Merseyside 20.317 14.614 24.929 .455 15.349 75.664 30.548 Tyne and Wear 12.954 1.307 19.454 .053 4.536 38.304 9.758 South Yorkshire 12.475 2.851 22.483 .161 9.424 47.394 13.938 West Midlands 12.475 7.485 40.189 .288 19.498 79.935 16.277 West Yorkshire 21.386 8.911 34.365 .840 14.368 79.870 25.393 Total Mets 97.568 53.497 178.924 2.200 77.204 409.393 118.751 Avon 1.782 14.964 .273 7.241 24.260 3.309 Bedfordshire .904 7.786 .178 5.249 14.117 2.452 Berkshire 1.129 10.018 .001 5.943 17.091 1.771 Buckinghamshire 1.426 9.317 .042 8.495 19.280 5.478 Cambridgeshire .795 9.022 .021 7.528 17.366 3.524 Cheshire 5.346 16.014 .188 4.545 26.093 4.535 Cleveland 1.782 9.368 .052 5.825 17.027 3.541 Cornwall 1.395 10.213 .023 5.164 16.795 5.562 Cumbria 2.329 13 030 .011 3.481 18.851 6.278 Derbyshire 3.327 .053 15.753 .056 3.708 22.897 2.728 Devon 1.270 21.039 .160 10.938 33.407 9.254 Dorset 1.616 10.619 .028 8.251 20.514 5.561 Durham 1.972 11.480 .076 5.696 19.224 4.547 East Sussex 2.044 9.515 .037 5.408 17.004 2.211 Essex 2.727 .004 23.108 .011 12.064 37.914 5.027 Gloucestershire .625 8.700 .033 2.916 12.274 1.194 Hampshire 3.375 19.535 .153 11.415 34.478 2.450 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 1.253 .309 10.272 .060 4.411 16.305 2.226 Hertfordshire 7.877 .006 13.720 .605 6.404 28.612 5.900 Humberside 1.188 .020 15.662 .062 9.766 26.698 6.124 Isle of Wight .312 2.661 .035 1.687 4.695 1.572 Kent 2.873 22.531 .251 12.088 37.743 4.801 Lancashire 4.871 .001 27.375 .103 10.347 42.697 9.705 Leicestershire 1.901 13.484 .344 6.350 22.079 3.058 Lincolnshire .772 .006 13.597 .092 3.897 18.364 4.909 Norfolk 1.179 11.952 .018 6.826 19.975 3.744 Northamptonshire .891 8.677 .034 7.303 16.905 4.052 Northumberland .713 8.154 .107 2.718 11.692 3.892 set out the Government's intention to give high priority to investment in urban and rural bypasses and relief roads. I have taken this priority into account in deciding the allocations of accepted capital expenditure, and county councils should be able to go ahead with a further 35 schemes of this kind.
I am letting county councils know the amounts I have accepted for capital, for road maintenance, for bus and rail revenue support, and for other current expenditure separately. Details of these figures, together with the amount of grant that each county will receive, are shown in table 1, a copy of which is deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The figures are in cash terms, in accordance with the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget speech of 10 March 1981.
I am also announcing today the capital control allocations for transport, in accordance with section 72 of the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980. These cover all the capital expenditure accepted for the TSG, together with certain other expenditure not eligible for the TSG. Details of these allocations are set out in table 2, and which has also been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
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Expenditure Accepted for TSG Revenue Support County Bus etc. Rail Road Maintenance Other Current Capital Total Grant North Yorkshire 1.782 18.638 .087 5.067 25.574 8.098 Nottinghamshire 1.242 15.168 .094 8.394 24.898 3.038 Oxfordshire .266 7.715 .061 2.621 10.663 .224 Shropshire .714 6.995 .114 2.927 10.750 2.041 Somerset .457 9.749 .081 4.884 15.171 4.432 Staffordshire 3.089 14.734 .038 7.101 24.962 2.645 Suffolk .368 .059 9.339 .022 6.358 16.146 2.397 Surrey 5.196 16.784 .145 8.843 30.968 6.998 Warwickshire .374 9.140 .122 3.273 12.909 2.095 West Sussex 1.928 11.939 .051 5.381 19.299 3.908 Wiltshire .581 8.485 .272 4.426 13.764 1.914 Total Shires 7.671 .458 496.252 4.141 244.939 819.461 157.195 Total England 260.346 53.955 787.006 11.693 518.800 1,631.800 456.900
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Table 2 Capital Allocations—Transport 1982–83 County £ Greater London 194.924 Greater Manchester 22.001 Merseyside 21.362 Tyne and Wear 33.527 South Yorkshire 16.471 West Midlands 26.857 West Yorkshire 19.598 Total Mets. 139.816 Avon 7.618 Bedfordshire 5.472 Berkshire 6.296 Buckinghamshire 8.495 Cambridgeshire 7.658 Cheshire 4.819 Cleveland 6.225 Cornwall 5.713 Cumbria 3.819 Derbyshire 4.428 Devon 11.947 Dorset 8.952 Durham 6.439 East Sussex 6.079 Essex 13.208 Gloucestershire 2.916 Hampshire 12.206 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 4.411 Hertfordshire 6.656 Humberside 10.073 Isle of Wight 1.820 Kent 13.272 Lancashire 11.230 Leicestershire 6.825 Lincolnshire 4.040 Norfolk 7.049 Northants 7.719 Northumberland 2.908 North Yorkshire 5.067 Nottinghamshire 9.180 Oxfordshire 2.820 Shropshire 2.927 Somerset 5.084 Staffordshire 7.375 Suffolk 6.861 Surrey 9.259 Warwickshire 3.481 West Sussex 5.752 Wiltshire 4.495 Total Shires 260.594
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County £ District Councils Barnsley 0.228 Barrow 0.279 Blackburn 0.528 Blackpool 0.638 Blyth Valley 0.023 Boston 0.187 Boothferry 0.095 Bournemouth 0.070 Bradford 0.094 Brighton 0.025 Bristol 2.508 Burnley* 0.105 Canterbury 0.081 Carrick 0.023 Chester 0.257 Chesterfield 0.413 Colchester 0.099 Copeland 0.065 Darlington 0.244 Derby 0.605 Derwentside 0.042 Doncaster 0.285 East Staffordshire 0.081 Eastbourne 0.246 East Yorkshire 0.076 Exeter 0.073 Fylde 0.202 Gillingham 0.014 Glanford 0.832 Great Yarmouth 0.028 Grimsby* 0.109 Halton 0.131 Hartlepool 0.651 Hyndburn 0.165 Ipswich 0.426 Kingston-upon-Hull 0.682 Kirklees 0.190 Lancaster 0.314 Leeds 0.001 Leicester 1.351 Lincoln 0.167 Maidstone 0.258 Manchester City 0.060 Medina 0.018 Middlesborough* 0.783 Northampton 0.030 Nottingham 0.525 Penwith 0.242 Plymouth 1.426 Portsmouth 5.917 Preston 0.482 Reading 1.404 Rochdale 0.261 Rossendale 0.269 Rotherham 0.466
County £ Scunthorpe 0.356 Sedgefield 0.050 Sefton 0.119 Southampton 0.432 Southend-on-Sea 0.043 South Hams 0.024 Stockport 0.024 Stockton 0.005 Sunderland 1.715 Tameside 0.279 Thamesdown 0.327 Thanet 0.685 Torbay 0.005 Torridge 0.010 Tynedale 0.052 Wakefield 0.285 Wansbeck 0.172 Warrington 0.479 West Somerset 0.115 Weymouth 0.043 Wigan 0.089 Wirral 0.059 Total Districts 30.142 London Boroughs Barking 0.134 Barnet 0.489 Bexley 3.451 Brent 0.145 Bromley 0.703 Camden 0.251 City of London 2.656 Croydon 1.063 Ealing 2.056 Enfield 0.239 Greenwich 0.228 Hackney 0.674 Hammersmith 0.379 Haringey 0.253 Harrow 1.613 Havering 0.703 Hillingdon 3.922 Hounslow 0.605 Islington 0.611 Kensington and Chelsea 0.412 Kingston-upon-Thames 1.723 Lambeth 0.503 Lewisham 0.286 Merton 0.841 Newton 1.875 Redbridge 1.547 Richmond 0.115 Southwark 2.796 Sutton 0.755 Tower Hamlets 0.684 Waltham Forest 1.312 Wandsworth 0.098 Westminster 4.319 Total London Boroughs 37.441 Total counties (including GLC) 595.334 Total districts 30.142 Total London boroughs 37.441 Total England 662.917 * Allocations made to one authority in respect of joint bus undertakings shared with one or more other authorities.