§ Mr. Cantasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will now make a statement on the results of his talks with local authority associations on the distribution of the new block grant and the penalising of overspenders.
§ Mr. KingMy right hon. Friend chaired a discussion of the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance on 28 July which considered the final reports of the official-level grants working group on block grant and grant-related expenditure assessment. The Government consider that the results of the development work provide a satisfactory basis for the implementation of block grant in 1981–82. In the light of any further comments from the local authority associations my right hon. Friend will shortly be inviting the grants working group to exemplify a range of grant distribution options for the RSG settlement in the autumn.