§ Mr. Worthingtonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide figures to show the trend in real terms over the last five years of Strathclyde's share of the resources allocated to regional councils; if he will also provide a table showing regional councils in descending order according to their level of deprivation, as measured
268W
£ million 1983–1984 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 Regional/Islands Council Borders 5.507 5.904 6.970 8.497 8.842 Central 11.948 12.413 12.813 13.893 15.240 Dumfries and Galloway 8.430 8.260 9.220 9.607 10.567 Fife 15.880 17.220 19.930 22.958 21.383 Grampian 36.636 37.875 43.740 42.668 40.250 Highland 16.645 17.521 21.990 21.775 23.150 Lothian 44.963 40.552 50.332 49.810 46.776 (A) Strathclyde 139.362 134.460 144.813 139.940 140.190 Tayside 21.279 23.008 25.100 24.540 25.940 Orkney 3.235 2.900 3.885 4.875 4.160 Shetland 9.570 8.160 6.445 7.000 6.700 Western Isles 6.280 6.350 7.315 11.087 10.500 Joint Police Boards 0.777 1.260 3.479 5.110 6.140 by his Department's criteria; and if he will indicate how deprivation levels influence decisions on the allocation of resources to individual regional councils.
§ Mr. LangStrathclyde's share of the resources available to regional councils over the last five years is set out in table A below. Table B shows the ranking of the regional councils in terms of area deprivation. Aspects of social deprivation are taken into account in the assessment of authorities' relative expenditure need, which is undertaken in consultation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and which underlies the calculation of current expenditure guidelines.
Table A Strathclyde's current expenditure guideline as a percentage of all regional councils' guidelines Per cent. 1983–84 49.4 1984–85 49.3 1985–86 49.1 1986–87 48.5 1987–88 48.3
Table B Ranking of regional councils in terms of area deprivation 1. Strathclyde 2. Tayside 3. Central 4. Lothian 5. Fife 6. Dumfries and Galloway 7. Highland 8. Grampian 9. Borders
§ Mr. Worthingtonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria are used to determine the allocation of capital funds to Scottish regional councils; what amount Strathclyde regional council has received in each of the last five years; and how these figures compare pro rata with other regional councils.
§ Mr. LangIn determining the allocation of resources for capital expenditure by local authorities, careful consideration is given to the relative needs of authorities, as expressed in their financial plans. In assessing relative needs, account is taken of a number of factors, which may vary according to the nature of the proposed expenditure. The figures requested are set out in the table.
269W
1983–1984 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 (B) Total 320.512 315.883 356.032 361.760 359.838 (A) as a percentage of (B) 43.48 42.56 40.67 38.68 38.95 Notes:
(1) The table is based on final allocations, plus any supplementary allocations, and specific consents (eg urban programme, civil defence) but does not take account of enhancements/abatements to allocations as a result of underspends/overspends in the previous year.
(2) The figures for 1983–84 and 1984–85 do not include an allowance for capital financed from current revenue.
(3) The table covers allocations for the roads and transport, water and sewerage, social work, education, general services, police, urban aid and civil defence programmes. In the case of police, account has been taken of allocations to joint police boards.