§ Sir Ian Percivalasked the Secretary of State for Transport what maximum limit of expenditure by the Merseyside passenger transport authority he has fixed for 1986–87; what are his plans and intentions as to expenditure by that authority in the two years following; and what are the likely implications for the ratepayers of Sefton having regard to the resulting precepts.
§ Mr. RidleyUnder the Precept Limitation (Passenger Transport Authorities) (Prescribed Maximum) Order 1986 the maximum precept which may be levied by the Merseyside passenger transport authority on Merseyside districts, including Sefton, in 1986–87 is 44.88p. It could, of course levy less. This figure was based upon an expenditure level redetermined on 20 December 1985 at £81.3 million, although the authority applied for substantially more at £105 million. I have made it clear that in the following two years of precept control further substantial reductions in revenue support must be achieved in order to ensure a reasonable balance between the needs of transport users and of taxpayers.