§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the effect on the SSA for Greenwich if at the time of the last census Thamesmead tenants had already left the public sector and if the present numbers of children with lone parents had been present then.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the reasons why the spread of sports grounds and undeveloped land in the borough of Greenwich leads, through the ward weighted density calculation, to reduced social services provision for the frail elderly and children at risk.
§ Mr. KeyWard-weighted density is not an indicator used in the standard spending assessment for personal social services for the elderly or for children. The level of provision of social services in Greenwich is, in any case, a matter of discretion for the borough.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what the borough of Greenwich might be expected to spend on(a) social services and (b) other services if the assessment per head for Lewisham and for Wandsworth were used.
§ Mr. KeyIt is for the borough of Greenwich to decide how much to spend on each service. SSAs are calculated to reflect the social and demographic characteristics of the individual authority concerned. Thus Lewisham's SSA would not be appropriate for Greenwich. The following table shows what the 1991–92 personal social services and all other services SSA elements for Greenwich would be if its SSA per adult for each service was the same as that of Lewisham and Wandsworth.
SSA element for Greenwich 1991–92 Personal social services All other services £ million £ million Greenwich's actual position 32.165 33.031 With same per adult sum as for Lewisham 41.191 41.054 With same per adult sum as for Wandsworth 43.559 52.095