§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the increased contributions which local government employers will have to make to their pension schemes in order to offset the effect of the ACT charges in the 1997 Budget; and what these extra contributions are as a percentage of the total payroll costs. [104674]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe effect of the abolition of advance corporation tax on employer contributions to local authority pension funds was one of many factors taken into account in the 1998 actuarial valuation exercise. Information on increases to individual local authority employers' contributions specifically attributable to this aspect of the exercise is not collected centrally.
The Local Government Association estimated that the average net impact of the 1998 valuation, including the effect of the ACT changes on employers' contributions in 1999–2000 was 1 per cent., or about £130 million nationally. We have honoured undertakings given at the time of the 1997 Budget to take into account this and all the other factors identified in the valuation exercise in determining the level of local authority provision in 1999–2000, and for subsequent years.