Standard Spending Assessments (Hansard, 10 May 1991)

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what allowance is made in the standard spending assessment for numbers in private rented accommodation; and how this affects allocations per head of the population in(a) Grimsby, (b) Westminster, (c) Harrogate and (d) Eastbourne.

§ Mr. Key
The proportion of persons aged 65 years and over living in privately rented accommodation is used within the calculation of the standard spending assessment element for social services for the elderly. Details are given in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) which is in the Library.
The SSAs for Grimsby, Harrogate and Eastbourne are therefore unaffected by this factor since they are not social services authorities. Westminster receives around £14 per head of population in its SSA for 1991–92 as a result of this factor.

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what allowance is taken in the standard spending assessment for Humberside of the need to raise the numbers of young people staying in education after 16 years.

§ Mr. Key
The post-16 education standard spending assessment is based on a measure of the number of students aged 16 years and over derived from the latest available counts. Any increase in the numbers of young people in Humberside staying in education beyond the age of 16 will, therefore, be directly reflected in that authority's assessment.

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what allowance is made in the standard spending assessment for tourism; and what is the rate per head of population for(a) Grimsby, (b) Westminster, (c) Scarborough and (d) Oxford.

§ Mr. Key
An allowance for tourism based on domestic overnight visitors is made in the standard spending assessment element for all other services. Details are given in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) Report (England) which is in the Library. The amount of SSA per head of population for 1991–92 allocated on the basis of the tourism factor for each of the listed authorities is as follows: Grimsby £1 per head; Westminster £10 per head; Scarborough £10 per head; and Oxford £1 per head.

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing for Barrow-in-Furness, Great Grimsby, Westminster, Wandsworth and Elmbridge, the amount per household allowed under the various headings of the standard spending assessment together with the reasons for any difference.

§ Mr. Key
Details of the 1991–92 standard spending assessments, for all authorities, disaggregated by the main service elements, are given in the "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1991–92" which was placed in the Library on 24 April 1991. Figures are shown in pound622W million and pounds per adult. SSAs are calculated on the basis of general principles applied in the same way to all authorities as described in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) and the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) Report (England) both of which are also in the Library. Any differences in SSAs between authorities, therefore, reflect their varying characteristics.

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what allowance is made in the standard spending assessment for ethnic minorities; and how this affects allocations in(a) Grimsby, (b) Leeds, (c) Birmingham and (d) Wandsworth.

§ Mr. Key
The country of origin of household members is included in the additional needs indicator which is part of the education standard spending assessment; in the children's social index which is part of the personal social services and all other services SSA. Details are given in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England) as amended by the Revenue Support Grant Distribution (Amendment) Report, copies of which are in the Library.
The amounts allocated on the basis of each of these indices are shown for all authorities in the "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1991/92" which is also in the Library.