§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority on his proposed financial settlement for 1991–92; what consideration he has given to those representations; if he will publish details of those representations; and if he will make a statement on the implications of his proposals for the fire service in South Yorkshire.
§ Mr. Portillo[holding answer 7 December 1990]: We have received a number of representations from the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority on our proposals for the revenue support grant settlement for 1991–92, including those put to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, when he met a delegation from the authority on 27 November. It is for the authority to make public its representations if it so chooses.
We are proposing to increase the authority's standard spending assessment by £3.2 million to £25.7 million, which we believe to be an appropriate assessment of the costs of providing the fire service in South Yorkshire. We shall carefully consider all the representations received before taking our decisions on the settlement.