HC Deb 22 March 1985 vol 75 cc618-21W
Mr. Colin Shepherd

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out in the Official Report a table showing the actual or estimated capital expenditure by each regional water authority on (a) urban flood protection, (b) agricultural flood protection and (c) sea defences for the years 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86.

Mrs. Fenner

Details of each water authority's planned expenditure on the three categories, described by the hon. member, are shown in the following table in the form submitted to the Ministry before the beginning of the relevant year. Limits on the level of expenditure that could attract grant aid were imposed for 1984–85 and 1985–86 after these plans had been drawn up. The actual levels of expenditure will therefore be less than these plans indicate and are likely to be in line with the grant earning ceiling shown for these years.

£ thousand
Planned expenditure *Anglian Northumbrian North West Severn Trent Southern South West *Thames †Welsh Wessex Yorkshire
1983–84
Urban Flood Protection (including Hood Warning) 2,476 66 58 210 1,071 3,683 5,654 335 1,869 1,547
Agricultural Flood Protection and Arterial Drainage 6,332 256 2,490 2,929 737 479 406 630 1,299
Sea Defence 6,610 65 823 1,649 6,310 414 42 10 2,759 1,297
Actual Overall Expenditure as Reported by Authority 14,286 26 2,972 1,989 5,900 2,392 3,705 344 6,155 3,775
1984–85
Urban Flood Prevention (including Flood Warning) 4,449 59 842 2,590 907 595 5,429 97 1,455 1,369
Agricultural Flood Protection and Arterial Drainage 7,002 312 1,483 3,742 727 275 612 370 1,092 769
Sea Defence 8,888 80 1,493 1,022 5,589 1,350 506 21 2,288 4,346
Gram Earning Ceiling 12,760 220 2,760 4,400 5,010 1,630 3,680 360 3,610 4,500
1985–86
Urban Flood Prevention (including Flood Warning) 2,513 88 1,104 2,252 713 801 2,694 143 1,517 1,999
Agricultural Flood Protection and Arterial Drainage 5,604 197 911 2,192 136 263 635 140 801 1,214
Sea Defence 5,396 24 906 839 4,626 1,245 721 2,523 3,022
Grant Earning Ceiling 8,600 140 2,180 2,950 3,800 1,940 2,630 230 3,250 3,460
* Excludes Thames Tidal Defences.
† England only.

Mr. Colin Shepherd

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out in the Official Report a table showing the grant-earning ceilings and rates of grant payable under the Land Drainage Act 1976 for each regional water authority in the years 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86.

1983–84 1984–85 1985–86
Grant Earning Ceiling £ thousand Grant Rates Per cent. Grant Earning Ceiling £ thousand Grant Rates Per cent. (Provisional) Grant Earning Ceiling £ thousand Grant Rates Per cent. (Provisional)
Anglian
Essex* 1,736 64 1,837 62 1,400 45
Great Ouse 2,155 67 1,633 60 1,300 44
Lincolnshire 4,713 80 5,002 75 3,100 62
Norfolk and Suffolk 3,082 73 2,144 63 1,100 44
Welland and Nene 2,834 73 2,144 66 1,700 52
Northumbrian 387 13 220 10 140 8
North West 3,306 36 2,760 31 2,180 21
Severn-Trent
Severn † 1,460 35 1,235 30 700 21
Trent 4,596 34 3,165 26 2,250 18
Southern
Hampshire 469 21 398 18 310 12
Isle of Wight 53 38 31 28
Kent* 4,508 69 3,342 62 2,420 44
Sussex 1,765 67 1,239 57 1,070 40
South West
East 1,890 64 1,182 52 1,470 42
West 487 28 448 24 470 20
Thames
Lea* 2,812 41 1891 30 1,080 15
Thames 3,122 39 1,789 29 1,550 19
Welsh
Dee and Clwyd † 70 62 111 66 80 53
Wye † 293 72 249 66 150 56

Mrs. Fenner

The information requested is set out in the table on the basis of water authority divisions. Grant earning ceilings are notified to authorities before the beginning of the year to which they relate. They may be adjusted during the year in the light of changing needs. Grant rates are based provisionally on grant earning ceilings, but after the end of the year are re-calculated on actual expenditure.

1983–84 1984–85 1985–86
Grant Earning Ceiling £ thousand Grant Rates per cent. Grant Earning Ceiling £ thousand Grant Rates per cent. (Provisional) Grant Earning Ceiling £ thousand Grant Rates per cent. (Provisional)
Wessex
Avon and Dorset 674 32 456 25 536 20
Bristol Avon 1,015 39 573 29 589 23
Somerset 3,171 80 2,581 75 2,125 62
Yorkshire 3,981 34 4,500 31 3,460 22
* Excludes Thames Tidal Defences.
† Expenditure in England only.

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