§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those authorities which will be worse off in real terms during the financial year 1978–79 so far as the needs element of 807W rate support grant is concerned when compared with 1977–78.
§ Mr. ShoreThe rate support grant settlement for 1978–79 assumed that total local authority expenditure would remain level in real terms. Since the basis of the grant distribution has been changed to reflect changes in the spending needs of different authorities, some will fare better in real terms in the 1978–79 distribution and others worse. Of the latter group the following authorities would appear, on present estimates, to lose most in real terms:
Shire Counties
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Dorset
- East Sussex
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Isle of Wight
- Kent
- Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- Salop
- Surrey
- Warwickshire
- West Sussex
- Wiltshire
- Clwyd
- Gwynedd
- Powys
- Gloucestershire
Metropolitan Districts
- Trafford
- Wigan
- Knowsley
- Wirral
- Rotherham
- Sheffield
- Sunderland
- Dudley
- Solihull
- Kirklees
The safety net will, however, ensure that none of these authorities loses more than the equivalent of a 2p rate as a result of the change from the 1977–78 to the 1978–79 needs assessment arrangements.