HC Deb 28 June 1999 vol 334 cc85-6W
Mr. Maclean

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of emergency planning requirements in Cumbria. [88352]

Mr. George Howarth

None. The assessment of what is required in Cumbria is the responsibility of the local agencies.

For 1999–2000, Cumbria County Council was allocated a £204,288 grant. The Chief Executive was informed on 26 May that, as a result of the new scheme, this would be reduced to £183,859 for 2000–01 and again to £136,486 for 2001–02.

Civil defence grant has never been provided on the basis of an assessed need for each specific area and is only a contribution towards the total requirement. The new scheme is based on the following rationale: All 178 grant eligible authorities will receive a basic allocation of £45,000 to ensure a minimum level of service, and the delivery of basic standards of preparedness. County Councils will receive an allocation of £;10,000 for each of the District Councils within the County boundary in recognition of the service that a County must provide to constituent Districts. Remaining grant after the first two elements have been addressed will be allocated according to Bellwin thresholds. The Bellwin Scheme, operated by the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, sets a level of expenditure above which central Government may contribute to costs incurred by local authorities in responding to a major incident. The use of Bellwin acknowledges the relationship between population size and the work load of emergency planning teams in large areas.

Some work done by local authorities can be charged to outside industry and in Cumbria, for example, the cost of work done with the nuclear industry under specific legislation, can be reclaimed from them.

Mr. Maclean

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for the future funding for emergency planning services in(a) England and Wales and (b) Cumbria. [88353]

Mr. George Howarth

The Home Office provides civil defence grant to eligible local authorities in England and Wales to offset some of the expenditure incurred by them in meeting their civil defence duties. The grant is not intended to meet the full cost of emergency planning services.

The total amount of grant for England and Wales has been set at £14.038 million for this year and the next two years. Cumbria have been allocated £204,288 for 1999–2000, £183,859 for 2000-01 and £136,486 for 2001–02. The reduction is the result of a new mechanism for allocating civil defence grant.