§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of state for the Environment how many staff, and at which grades, are wholly or partly employed in monitoring price increases
Current Expenditure 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 England and Wales * † Assumed in RSG settlement £ million (November 79 (RSG) prices) 13,257 13,574 13,622 §13,707 ║13,849 13,311 Outturn £ million (November 79) 13,493 13,528 13,260 13,653 ¶13,839 n.a. Excess (+) or shortfall (-) per cent. + 1.8 -0.3 -2.7 -0.4 -0.1 n.a. Scotland ‡ Assumed in Settlement £ million (November 79) 1,565 1,637 1,647 §1,662 1,705 1,668 Near actual Outturn £ million (November 79) 1,670 1,635 1,600 1,682 1,711 n.a. Excess (+) or shortfall (-) per cent. +6.7 -0.1 -2.9 + 1.2 -0.4 n.a. Notes:
* separate targets were not set for England and Wales in the rate support grant settlements for these years.
† current expenditure was not separately identified in the 1974–75 settlement.
‡ figures for 1974–75 are not comparable because of the effect of Local Government reorganisation on 15 May 1975.
§ original settlement, as adjusted for the effect of the Budget decision not to increase the price of school meals.
║ original settlement: in the June 1979 Budget, authorities were asked to reduce their current expenditure volume by £300 million—at November 1978 prices—that is to £13,434 million at November 1979 prices.
¶ provisional.
§ Mr. Whiteheadasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply, Official Reply, 9 March, column 256, what was the approximate cost of providing information about the current expenditure of each local authority in England in 1978–79 and what would be the approximate cost of providing comparable information for 1977–78.
§ Mr. KingThe figures for 1978–79 were already130W of the following items; private houses, goods and services supplied by local authorities, water charges and private and council rents for domestic accommodation.
§ Mr. HeseltineNone of my staff is employed on monitoring individual price increases.