§ Mr. Pikeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the percentage of local authority income received each year from 1979 to date for each rating authority in England, and for England as a whole, from each of the following classes: (a) domestic, (b) mixed and (c) non-domestic.
§ Mr. WaldegraveFollowing is the available information for England as a whole:
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Cash increase in net current expenditure 1978–79— 1983–84 (£000)
Overspend on GRE* 1983–84 Per cent.
Essex 212,271 -2.08 Kent 199,767 -4.48 Hampshire 192,220 -0.31 Nottingamshire 180,915 5.15 Greater Manchester 165,134 18.62 West Midlands 155,084 12.79 Avon 152,624 10.20 Humberside 152,120 5.65 Cheshire 151,717 6.17 Staffordshire 146,488 2.13 Derbyshire 144,009 4.19 Merseyside 140,303 31.56 Leicestershire 137,865 -0.95 Devon 134,789 -1.11 Hertfordshire 132,286 1.76 West Yorkshire 131,940 21.98 Birmingham 129,552 -6.26 Surrey 122,265 -0.05 South Yorkshire 111,333 75.95 Cleveland 108,320 8.29 Berkshire 107,763 2.45 North Yorkshire 96,352 0.84 Buckinghamshire 95,945 0.35 Leeds 94,586 1.43
Cash increase in net current expenditure 1978–79—1983–84 (£000)
Overspend on GRE* 1983–84 Per cent.
Sheffield 93,358 26.37 Norfolk 93,258 -2.92 Hereford and Worcester 91,918 -1.26 * GRE as in the RSG supplementary report (England) 1983–84.
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of the 30 local authorities with the largest percentage increases in their local rate or precept between 1981–82 and 1983–84, showing for each (a) the percentage increase in their local rate or precept and (b) the percentage increase in their net current expenditure, in cash, between 1981–82 and 1983–84.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe information is as follows:
1981–82—1983–4 Change in Local Rate/Precept per cent.
Net current Expenditure Increase per cent.
Greater London Council 118.2 75.9 Greenwich 77.1 30.0 Chorley 71.1 17.8 West Somerset 64.0 10.2 Leicester 59.1 38.2 Basildon 56.7 23.8 Broxbourne 54.7 15.6 Thurrock 53.1 44.5 Mendip 51.6 21.8 South Norfolk 50.7 16.5 Humberside 48.6 17.8 Forest of dean 48.6 25.4 Merseyside 46.7 23.4 Elmbridge 46.6 16.1 Castle Morpeth 46.4 11.3 Richmond-upon-Thames 43.1 9.0 Derbyshire 40.5 18.5 Nottinghamshire 39.9 20.2 North Tyneside 39.5 19.1 Greater Manchester 39.4 20.6 Avon 39.3 18.0 Malvern Hills 36.5 23.8 South Yorkshire 33.0 20.9 West Lancashire 33.0 13.5 Trafford 32.8 17.8 Mole Valley 32.1 4.5 Leicestershire 31.5 20.8 Islington 31.3 32.4 North Wiltshire 31.2 22.1 Uttlesford 30.8 19.6
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of the 30 local authorities with the smallest percentage increases in their local rate or precept between 1981–82 and 1983–84, showing for each (a) the percentage increase in their local rate or precept and (b) the percentage increase in their net current expenditure, in cash, between 1981–82 and 1983–84.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe information is as follows:144W
1981–82 Change in Local rate/precept (percentage)
1983–84 Net Current Expenditure Increase (percentage)
Slough -68.2 26.3 North Dorset -40.1 15.6 East Cambridgeshire -35.2 20.9 Chelmsford -33.8 3.6 Oswestry -33.0 22.5 Kensington and Chelsea -30.3 13.5 Corby -29.6 28.3 Wandsworth -28.2 6.5 East Northampton -27.8 13.0 Redditch -26.1 0.4 Bassetlaw -25.7 36.4 Cannock Chase -25.0 47.1 Tewkesbury -22.2 19.2 Blackburn -21.5 5.6 Derby -19.1 27.7 Worcester -18.5 29.0 Stockton on Tees -17.7 19.8 Three Rivers -17.2 2.7 Forest Heath -17.1 28.0 Peterborough -17.1 16.3 Milton Keynes -16.7 32.7 Hartlepool -16.6 17.3 Bracknell -16.3 9.6 Hove -16.0 14.3 Adur -15.5 16.7 New Forest -15.1 27.9 Chiltern -15.0 12.8 Waveney -14.8 28.2 Tower Hamlets -14.6 24.0 Waltham Forest -13.6 17.1
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has with regard to the future use of grant-related expenditure allocations in the light of the Government's decision not to proceed with the 1986 census and the proposal to use grant-related expenditure allocations in connection with the powers he is seeking in the Rates Bill.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinIt is my intention that grant-related expenditure assessments should continue to provide the basis for rate support grant distribution. As I have made clear to the House, I also propose to have regard to expenditure performance in relation to GRE as one criterion of selection under part I of the Rates Bill.
Following the decision not to proceed with a 1986 census, consideration is being given within my Department — in consultation with other Departments and the local authority associations — to ways of updating some of the census information which is used for GREs and other purposes, in the latter part of this decade.
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish, in total, for local authorities in England, current expenditure, in cash, on (a) education, (b) school meals and milk, (c) libraries, museums and art galleries, (d) social services, (e) port health, (f) police, (g) fire, (h) other Home Office services, (i) transport, (k) consumer protection, (l) environmental services, (m) employment, (n) non-housing revenue account housing and (o) in total, for (i) 1981–82 original budgets, (ii) 1981–82 revised budgets, (iii) 1982–83 original budgets and (iv) 1983–84 most recent estimates.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe available information is as follows. A breakdown of expenditure into services in cash is not available from budget returns.
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Budget detail on local authority current expenditure—England £ million 1981–82 Original Budgets at November 1980 prices 1981–82 Revised Budgets at November 1980 prices 1982–83 Budgets at November 1981 prices 1983–84 Budgets at November 1982 prices Education 7,880.6 7,840.2 8,600.3 9,201.2 School meals and milk 347.2 347.1 372.8 396.5 Libraries, Museums and Art Galleries 312.1 310.5 321.0 350.4 Social Services 1,630.1 1,619.8 1,859.5 2,040.7 Port Health 2.4 2.4 2.9 3.3 Police 1,816.7 1,824.6 2,070.2 2,240.2 Fire 382.1 377.7 446.8 491.2 Other Home Office Services 238.9 238.8 273.1 299.9 Transport 1,366.4 1,480.6 1,631.3 1,835.8 Consumer Protection 41.9 41.8 49.4 52.7 Environmental Services* 2,083.3 2,050.6 2,218.3 2,423.5 Employment 57.2 57.2 65.4 71.6 Non-HRA Housing† 83.3 82.2 93.0 116.49 Total‡ 16,276.1 16,289.7 18,037.9 19,585.2 Total in cash 17,792.4 17,870.3 19,462.1 20,664.4 * includes all services not specified elsewhere. † includes net cost of Housing Act advances. ‡ includes "un-allocated contingencies" and "other adjustments".
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish, for each class of local authorities and for local authorities in total, the increase in pay aid prices affecting their services, as a percentage, between (a) 1978–79 and 1983–84 and (b) 1981–82 and 1983–84.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe available data for England are as follows:
Estimated increase in local authority pay and prices Per cent. 1978–79 to 1983–84 79.1 1981–82 to 1983–84 13.0 These pay and prices indices are not normally calculated for classes of authority. Figures were, however, produced for the GLC and the metropolitan counties for the purposes of the White Paper "Streamlining the Cities". Between 1978–79 and 1983–84, pay and price indices for these authorities are estimated to have increased by approximately 90 per cent. and 85 per cent., respectively.
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the number of non-metropolitan county councils which would suffer a block grant reduction, in cash, if they moved from their 1983–84 spending level to their 1984–85 target, showing (a) the cash loss in grant and (b) the grant loss as a rate poundage.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinI shall answer this question shortly.