§ Mr. Whitlockasked the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of the original bids by county councils for bus revenue support is included in the recent transport supplementary grant announcement for 1982–83.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe change this year from volume to cash planning complicates any comparison between counties' bids, submitted at November 1980 prices, and my decisions announced in 1982–83 cash amounts. On the basis of the Government's view of pay and price movements nationally, the information required is attached. The low percentage acceptances for some counties reflect bids substantially greater than for previous years and far above our assessment of their transport needs. The actual amounts of expenditure accepted for grant were in almost every case well above those for 1981–82. For example, Nottinghamshire bid for 395 per cent. more than the previous year and we accepted an increase of only 20 per cent. in constant prices.
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Revenue Support (Bus and Other) Expenditure Accepted for TSG for 1982–83 as a Percentage of Bid per cent. Greater London 94* Greater Manchester 100 Merseyside 58 Tyne and Wear 75 South Yorkshire 51† West Midlands 26 West Yorkshire 47 TOTAL METS 52 Avon 36 Bedfordshire 100 Berkshire 79 Buckinghamshire 100 Cambridgeshire 100 Cheshire 81 Cleveland 29 Cornwall 100 Cumbria 100 Derbyshire 72 Devon 100 Dorset 100 Durham 100 East Sussex 100 Essex 100 Gloucestershire 93 Hampshire 100 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 100 Hertfordshire 100 Humberside 46 Isle of Wight 100 Kent 100
per cent. Lancashire 70 Leicestershire 100 Lincolnshire 100 Norfolk 100 Northamptonshire 58 Northumberland 100 North Yorkshire 100 Nottinghamshire 24 Oxfordshire 100 Shropshire 100 Somerset 100 Staffordshire 59 Suffolk 100 Surrey 100 Warwickshire 100 West Sussex 100 Wiltshire 100 TOTAL SHIRES 78 TOTAL ENGLAND 69 * Bid received from GLC excluded all planned expenditure on cutting fares.
† Bid received from South Yorkshire excluded part of their planned expenditure on maintaining low fares.