§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pursuant to his oral answer of 30 November,Official Report, column 1343, concerning the funding of the London borough of Newham, he will make a statement on the areas, or total, of overspending referred to in his answer. [4704]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordMy right hon. Friend was explaining to the hon. Member that under our provisional capping criteria Newham's permitted budget increase for 1996–97 is less than that of Westminster because Newham's budget this year is some 1.3 per cent. above its standard spending assessment whereas Westminster's is some 12 per cent. below.
Our proposals for 1996–97 mean that Newham's SSA per head will be one of the highest in the country. If it decides that spending on education should be below the amount which we have made available, that is a matter for it.