§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his oral statement on last year's local government finance 30 November,Official Report, columns 1333–39, if the increased resources for education announced by her Majesty's Government will be included in the standard spending assessments for financial year 1996–97; and how many councils who are also local education authorities will have increases in their revenue support grant that will permit them to expand their annual resources on education without reducing the levels of other services provided in 1995–96 or increasing the amount of council time levied in that year. [4178]
§ Sir Paul Beresford[holding answer 5 December 1995]: Education standard spending will increase by 4.5 per cent. in 1996–97. The provisional capping criteria will allow all authorities to increase their spending in line with 237W the increase in their education SSAs. Aggregate external finance, which includes revenue support grant and is not hypothecated, will increase by 2.8 per cent., as against an increase in total standard spending, excluding the provision for local government reorganisation, of 3.1 per cent.