§ Mr. Pikeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment by what percentage local government rates have increased in England in each year from 1979; and what percentage of those annual increases has resulted from reductions in the rate support grant settlement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveLocal authority average general rate poundages in England have increased since 1979–80, as follows:
Per cent. 1979–80 to 1980–81 22.9 1980–81 to 1981–82 19.7 1981–82 to 1982–83 12.9 1982–83 to 1983–84 6.4 Throughout this period rate support grants at settlement have increased in cash terms. As part of their policy to make local authorities more accountable to their rate payers and to encourage authorities, through the grant mechanisms, to reduce the expenditure, the Government have deliberately lowered aggregate Exchequer grant as a percentage of the relevant expenditure provision. It is not possible to isolate the effect that this reduction has had on rates, because these depend, inter alia, on the level of local authority spending, which would have been higher in the absence of the downward pressure imposed upon it by the reduction in grant percentage. What can be said is that if local authorities had spent in line with the Government spending plans, rate increases would on average have been lower than the general rate of inflation.