§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what allowance has been made of the level of capital expenditure by local authorities on information technology for community care purposes in the assessment of central Government grants; and what was the estimate of total such expenditure on which this was assessed.
§ Mr. DorrellSupplementary credit approvals of £4.9 million are available in 1991–92 to help local authorities—LAs—meet the cost of purchasing software to assist them in the work which needs to be done effectively to develop, monitor and review the community care planning process.
The Government have issued to LAs annual capital guidelines—ACGs—of £85 million for 1990–91 and £98 million is available for 1991–92. Because ACGs are unhypothecated, LAs may use them for expenditure on information technology—IT—for the community care programme. These resources may be supplemented by other receipts available to LAs from the sale of capital assets and by revenue moneys. The amount of capital which any individual LA will need to spend on the IT needed to support the community care programme will depend on local circumstances.