§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the Government's intention to base future Scottish Assembly block grant funds on a purely per capita formula; and if he will make a statement on the Government's approach to a formula determining block grant expenditure.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon:The levels of devolved public expenditure both in Scotland and in Wales will be determined on the basis of relative needs. The Government's approach to the determination of devolved public expenditure on this basis is set out in part III of "Devolution: Financing the Devolved Services"—Cmnd 6890—and work on the collection of objective information on needs and standards of public services in the four countries of the United Kingdom is continuing.