§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the levels of spending on strategic planning per head of population were in(a) Staffordshire and (b) each other county of England (i) in the current year and (ii) in each of the last three years, distinguishing in each case the element represented by standard spending assessment. [148290]
§ Ms Beverley HughesLocal authority expenditure on strategic planning is not separately identified in any of the returns made by local government to central Government. The SSA system does not make a separate provision for strategic planning; rather it is one of the many services funded through the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services SSA block. Consequently we are unable to provide the information requested.