§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to make a statement on local government finance, and if he will include additional information in respect of Welsh Office expenditure. [41049]
§ Mr. HagueIn accordance with usual practice, I plan to announce my proposals for 1996–97 local government total standard spending and aggregated external finance in a written parliamentary answer on Budget day, 28 November.
I hope to make an oral statement to the House some time in December on public expenditure in Wales. My statement will include expenditure on Welsh Office services; provisional standard spending assessments for local authorities; details of a damping scheme to limit increases in council tax levels in 1996–97; my capping proposals and relevant notional amounts; and local government capital settlements for 1996–97.