§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if cash increases in expenditure, net of specific grant, between 1983–84 and 1985–86 on civil defence will be disregarded for the purpose of determining the extent to which an authority has complied with its expenditure guidance in 1985–86.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy right hon. Friend will consider the representations for disregards he has received before implementing grant abatement for 1985–86.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the increase in the overall level of pay and prices for local authority current expenditure between the years 1980–81 to 1984–85.
§ Mr. WaldegraveBased on information by local authorities, including forecasts made in their 1984–85 budgets, pay and prices affecting local authority current expenditure are provisionally estimated to have increased by 32 per cent. between 1980–81 and 1984–85.
§ Mr. Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide by service block a comparison of local authority capital expenditure bids and allocations in Greater London, the metropolitan counties, metropolitan districts, shire counties and shire districts for each of the years 1981–82 to 1984–85.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy right hon. Friend does not hold information on bids for service blocks for which he is not directly responsible, and for the other services block there is no bidding system. Information on the housing bids and allocations for every housing authority in England for each of the years in question is available in the Library of the House.