§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will state in tabular form, for(a) Tower Hamlets, (b) Richmond upon Thames, (c) Sutton London borough, (d) Calderdale and (e) Stockport metropolitan district (i) which political party or groups of parties control the council, (ii) what has been the percentage change in spending by the council in each financial year since 1986–87, (iii) what has been the change in staffing levels in whole-time equivalents for each year since 1985 and (iv) what has been the change in the rate poundage, expressed as a percentage for each financial year since 1986–87;
(2) if he will give in tabular form for (a) Bedfordshire county council, (b) Cambridgeshire county council, (c) Cheshire county council, (d) Cumbria county council (e)
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Table B Changes in staffing levels1 since 1985 Authority Total staff (full-time plus part-time)2 Change at June, compared with a year earlier at June 1985 31986 1987 198 Bedfordshire 18,441 +972 +852 +191 Cambridgeshire 19,182 +1,732 +1,082 +191 Cheshire 35,123 +1,069 +1,872 -646 Cumbria 19,044 +9 +286 +100 Devon 30,930 +728 +866 +138 Gloucestershire 16,913 +175 +709 +99 Humberside 34,790 +416 +1,929 -146 Isle of Wight 4,000 -51 +63 +131 Lancashire 51,345 +148 +406 +2,109 Leicestershire 32,649 +510 -146 +2,133 Shropshire 13,882 +328 +524 -123 Somerset 15,031 +477 +703 +704 Warwickshire 17,204 +65 +959 +283 Wiltshire 19,493 +142 +840 4— Tower Hamlets 4,764 +1,726 +374 4— Richmond-upon-Thames 5,320 +181 +146 +195 London borough of Sutton 5,459 -260 +449 -21 Devon county council, (f) Gloucester county council, (g) Humberside county council, (h) Isle of Wight county council, (i) Lancashire county council, (j) Leicestershire county council, (k) Shropshire county council, (l) Somerset county council, (m) Warwickshire county council, and (n) Wiltshire county council (i) which political party of groups of parties has control of the council, (ii) what has been the percentage change in spending by the council in each financial year since 1986–87, (iii) what has been the change in staffing levels, in whole-time equivalents, for each year since 1985, (iv) what has been the change in the rate poundage expressed, as a percentage, for each financial year since 1986–87, (v) which councils are a nuclear-free Zone and (vi) which councils, acting as a local education authority employ staff to teach peace studies as part of the curriculum.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 13 February 1989]: The information for the authorities listed is as follows:
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Table A Percentage change in net current expenditure and local rate poundage Percentage change in net current expenditure Percentage change in local rate poundage 1986–87 to 1987–88 1987–88 to 1988–891 1986–87 to 1987–88 1987–88 to 1988–89 Bedfordshire 9.1 9.4 21.1 6.1 Cambridgeshire 10.0 12.1 6.2 4.9 Cheshire 10.0 13.6 9.1 10.0 Cumbria 9.4 5.7 2.7 5.5 Devon 9.5 10.3 7.3 11.3 Gloucestershire 11.6 8.7 7.9 11.9 Humberside 8.7 9.0 10.7 20.3 Isle of Wight 9.4 7.7 10.0 9.7 Lancashire 10.7 9.1 7.3 18.5 Leicestershire 9.8 8.9 5.0 11.0 Shropshire 10.1 9.9 7.6 8.7 Somerset 11.7 11.5 7.8 11.7 Warwickshire 12.0 6.7 7.9 15.9 Wiltshire 9.4 12.1 9.9 7.8 Tower Hamlets 2.6 1.9 4.7 11.6 Richmond upon Thames 8.2 5.9 12.3 10.7 London Borough of Sutton 11.4 12.9 18.9 9.6 Calderdale 6.9 12.2 5.1 18.1 Stockport 10.3 8.4 8.6 8.8 1 Using local authority 1988–89 budgets.
Authority Total staff (full-time plus part-time)2 Change at June, compared with a year earlier at June 1985 31986 1987 198 Calderdale 8,827 +453 +255 -4 Stockport 11,003 +260 +587 +802 1 Figures are for general services (ie excluding law and order services). 2 Full-time equivalent figures are not available at individual authority level. 3 The abolition of the Greater London council and Metropolitan county councils in April 1986, and the consequent transfer of staff to the London boroughs and Metropolitan districts, will have affected individual authorities differently. 4 Data not available. Only three authorities of those listed—Richmond-upon-Thames, London borough of Sutton and the Isle of Wight—are currently controlled by a single party. In each case SLD has overall control.
Information is not held centrally on authorities which have declared themselves to be nuclear free zones, or which employ staff to teach peace studies as part of the curriculum.