§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning the expenditure by local authorities on funding community relations councils; and if he will make an estimate of the total cost to ratepayers for the most recent 12 months period for which figures are available.
§ Mrs. RumboldDetails of financial assistance given by local authorities to community relations councils are shown in the annual reports of the Commission for Racial Equality, copies of which are available in the library of the House.
The total cost to ratepayers depends upon how the community relations councils are financed and on individual local authorities' specific and block grant entitlement. The Department does not hold the relevant information in a form which would enable the total cost to be calculated.