§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage above grant-related expenditure assessment the corporation of the City of London is planning to spend in 1983–84; and whether he considers this to be a reasonable expenditure policy.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe figure is 230 per cent. However, GRE is based predominantly upon the size of an area's resident population. It is therefore a largely irrelevant statistic for the City of London. The City is a wholly exceptional local authority with a tiny resident population but an extremely large day-time population for which it has to provide a wide range of services. The corporation's budget is 1.7 per cent. in excess of target for 1983–84, a better performance than that of a number of other London authorities. The City of London gets no block grant and is unlikely ever to do so.