§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the type and extent of projects which can be included in the locally determined sector of the rate support grant allocation;
(2) if it is the policy of his Department to take into account the existence of new towns in shire counties when deciding the allocation of the locally determined sector under the rate support grant;
(3) if it is the policy of his Department to reduce the funds allocated to the locally determined sector under the rate support grant to shire counties with a growing population;
(4) what in cash terms was the sum allocated to Cheshire County Council in respect of the locally determined sector in 383W 1975–76; and what is the figure of the current year 1978–79, in 1975–76 money terms;
(5) what percentage of total capital spending by local authorities was accounted for by the locally determined sector when it was first introduced in 1972; and what is the percentage for the current year 1978–79;
(6) what representations he has received from the Association of County Councils and the Association of District Councils about the substantial cuts which have been made by his Department in the locally determined sector allocation for Cheshire, for the year 1978–79; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Guy BarnettThe locally determined sector includes capital expenditure in all the main services. There is no exhaustive list of projects which can be included but the following would be covered:
- Road works costing less than £5 million
- Car parks
- Refuse collection and disposal
- Town and country planning services
- Assistance to industry
- Sport and recreation
- Libraries and museums
- School furniture
- Social services vehicles and furniture
- Fire services
- Council offices.
Except in the case of road works the size of project is irrelevant.
In 1971–72, 21 per cent. of all local authority capital spending was in the locally determined sector. For 1978–79 the estimate is about 12 per cent. The allocation of borrowing approval to individual areas is made on the recommendation of the local authority associations which would presumably consider what allowance should be made for such factors as population and the existence of new towns. No representations have been received from the Association of County Councils about the borrowing allocation for Cheshire for 1978–79, although both associations have made representations about the reduction in the national allocation. The borrowing allocation for the Cheshire county area in 1975–76 was £8,288,000 and the allocation for 1978–79, at 1975–76 prices, would be about £2,300,000.
The locally determined sector is not part of the rate support grant arangements.