§ Mr. Maxwell-HyslopTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on what basis the GREA formula factor for domestic refuse collection in widely scattered rural areas is calculated to equalise needs as compared with urban areas with less unproductive journey time per collection;
(2) what is the nature of the extra domestic refuse collection cost in urban areas, which the net daily population inflow factor in the GREA formula is intended to reflect.
§ Mr. ChopeThe main determinant of the GRE for refuse collection is the number of domestic premises in an authority's area. Commercial and industrial premises are not counted since authorities are assumed to cover the cost of collecting trade refuse by charging. Allowance is made for additional costs in rural areas by including the size of an authority's area in the GRE formula. Similarly, allowance is made for additional costs in urban areas by using a density of population factor. In addition, people who work in a different authority from their area of residence are assumed to increase the need for domestic refuse collection in both areas.
128WThe relative importance of each of these factors is determined through regression analysis of the actual costs of refuse collection by each local authority.
§ Mr. Maxwell-HyslopTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether regression analysis is employed to calculate existing costs as between rural and urban areas, for the purpose of fixing GREA multipliers.
§ Mr. ChopeRegression analysis is used to determine a number of GRE components. Many of them allow for higher costs in some rural areas through the use of sparsity of population factors, and for higher costs in some urban areas through population density factors. Details are given in the publication "Grant Related Expenditure 1987/88", a copy of which is in the Library.