§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the Exchequer contribution to local government expenditure as a percentage of (a) the total 331W expenditure subject to grant and (b) total local authority expenditure in each of the years 1970 to date, including the present estimates, planned outturns and forecasts.
§ Mr. WaldegraveFollowing is the readily available information:
*Aggregate Exchequer Grant as a Percentage of Relevant Expenditure (a) (b) †At Settlement ‡At outturn England and Wales 1970–71 57 — 1971–72 57.5 — 1972–73 58 — 1973–74 60 — 1974–75 60.5 — 1975–76 66.5 66.0 1976–77 65.5 64.8 1977–78 61 59.0 1978–79 61 61.3 1979–80 61 60.0 1980–81 61 58.3 England 1981–82 59.1 54.8 1982–83 56.1 51.2 1983–84 52.8 49.9 1984–85 51.9 — not readily available * Percentages at Settlement for the years 1970–71 to 1980–81 were based on expenditure and grant expressed at November prices. Outturn percentages are based on cash figures. † Percentages as given in the rate support grant settlement report. ‡ Aggregate Exchequer grant from final increase order for the year, or latest supplementary report. Relevant expenditure from outturn forms returned to the Department, except 1982–83 (local authorities' revised estimates) and 1983–84 (budgets). Outturn percentages since 1981–82 are affected by holdback of block grant.