§ Mr. LathamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the recent ministerial meeting with representatives of Leicestershire county council to discuss the county's revenue support grant allocation; what response the Under-Secretary of State made to the representations by the county council that the standard spending assessment was less than the uplifted grant-related expenditure assessments; and what action he has taken since the meeting in that regard.
§ Mr. ChopeThe representatives of Leicestershire county council were provided with an explanation of the factors which led to significant differences between the county's grant-related expenditure assessment and its proposed standard spending assessment for 1990–91. All the representations made have been carefully considered by my right hon. Friend before he took his decisions on the settlement.
§ Mr. LathamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in calculating the standard spending assessment for Leicestershire for the purposes of revenue support grant, he took account of the authorised increase in police manpower for the county in 1990–91; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChopeEach authority's police component of its standard spending assessment (SSA) is its share of the total the Government are allowing nationally for the police service. In deciding this total my right hon. Friend took account of the increase in police manpower authorised for 1990–91. Each authority's share has been calculated in proportion to its police establishment as approved by the Home Secretary as available at 29 September 1989.