HC Deb 05 February 1990 vol 166 cc427-8W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the cost to Humberside county of implementing sections 5 and 6 of the Disabled Persons Act; and what was the extent of the allocation for this in central funding for Humberside.

Mr. Chope

The provision we have made in the settlement for local authority personal social services (PSS) takes account of the additional costs of implementing sections 5 and 6 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986. The PSS element of each authority's standard spending assessment is its share of the PSS provision and is calculated in accordance with section 3 of the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), which was approved by the House of Commons on 18 January 1990.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the impact on the community charge on Humberside to(a) compensate for the cut in social services spending allocation for 1990–91 over 1989–90 while maintaining social services at the same level and (b) to meet the criticisms in the inspection of child care by social services.

Mr. Chope

Humberside county council's standard spending assessment (SSA) represents an appropriate level of spending for the council to provide a standard level of service consistent with the Government's view of the amount of expenditure which it would be appropriate for authorities generally to incur. The community charge in Humberside would be £278, before safety net adjustments, if the county and districts all spent at the level of their SSA.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was his Department's social services spending allocation for county Humberside for 1990–91; what was the grant-related expenditure allocation for 1989–90; and what are the reasons for the changes between the years.

Mr. Chope

The 1990–91 standard spending assessment (SSA) for social services for the county of Humberside is £60.234 million. The 1989–90 grant-related expenditure assessment (GREA) for social services in Humberside was £61.637 million.

There are several reasons for the difference in the two assessments. The GREA includes a small element for pre-1981–82 debt charges which is covered elsewhere in the SSA formula; the assessment formula has been substantially revised; and the information used in the assessment has been updated.