§ Mr. DevaTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total contribution from the Exchequer towards the cost of local government services; and how much of that amount goes to(a) London boroughs, (b) other English local authorities and (c) Welsh local authorities.
§ Mr. PortilloExchequer contributions towards the cost of local government services take three forms: grants—including redistributed non—domestic rates—within aggregate external finance—AEF—which go to support services wholly or mainly financed out of local authorities' general resources—including the council tax; current grants outside AEF, which generally relate to services wholly or mainly financed by such grants; and capital grants.
It is estimated that some 16.7 per cent. of grants within AEF to English local authorities are paid to London boroughs. Current grants outside AEF and capital grants are distributed by a number of different Government Departments. Information on the division of these grants between London boroughs and other English local authorities is not available centrally—the total England figures are therefore given.
The figures are as follows:
(£ million,1993–94) Grants within AEF Other current grants Capital grants Total England 33,231 11,468 1,401 Welsh local authorities 2,339 572 224 TOTAL1 40,776 13,007 1,793 Notes:
1 Includes authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.