§ Mr. St. John-Stevasasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will give reasons for the proposed cut in the rate support grant for Essex; and if, in the light of representations he has received from the right hon. Member for Chelmsford and other hon. Members he will cease these.
§ Mr. ChopeThe amount of grant Essex county council receives in 1987–88 depends on the level at which it spends. If it budgets to increase expenditure in line with inflation, I estimate that it will receive about £118 million grant on the basis of my proposals; this is only £1 million less than this year. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will consider all the representations made to him on his porposals for next year's rate support grant settlement before taking final decisions.