HC Deb 12 November 1991 vol 198 cc463-4W
Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what response he has made to the proposal of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities that the "other services" standard spending assessment should include an indicator of economic deprivation taking into account the extent of unemployment;

(2) what response he has made to the London Boroughs Association's proposal to alter the standard spending assessment by removing the need for the London Regional Transport adjustment.

Mr. Key

My right hon. Friend is considering all the representations which he has received from local authority representatives on standard spending assessments and will announce his proposals for 1992–93 shortly.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the "social services (children)" standard spending assessments for the London boroughs of Greenwich, Woolwich and Lewisham with the child population of each of those boroughs; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key

There is no London borough of Woolwich. The information for Greenwich and Lewisham, as requested, is shown in the following table.

SSA for children's social services 1991–92 £ million Children aged 0 to 17 years
Greenwich 14.070 51,746
Lewisham 22.890 52,352

The children's social services SSA is not simply based on the number of children in an area but takes account of a number of other factors which reflect the cost of providing a standard level of service.