HL Deb 02 February 1995 vol 560 cc123-4WA
Lord Harris of Greenwich

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What action they propose to take following the meeting between Ministers and the Greater Manchester Police Authority concerning their revenue budget for 1995–96; whether the Standard Spending Assessment final announcement will take account of the further representations from the authority about pension and establishment figures and motorway lengths; and whether they are prepared to accept a substantial shortfall in the authority's no-growth budget.

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Viscount Ullswater)

All the representations made by the Greater Manchester Police Authority, including those made in the meeting with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, were carefully considered before final decisions were taken on the distribution of Revenue Support Grant and police grant for 1995–96. Pensions recalculations and a small correction to the figure used for Greater Manchester's motorway lengths have increased the police authority's 1995–96 total of the Standard Spending Assessment and police grant by another £2.748 million. Details of the revised distribution of Revenue Support Grant and police grant for 1995–96 were laid before the other place on 30 January and have been sent to the authority. The revised distribution means that the total of the Standard Spending Assessment and police grant for the Greater Manchester Police Authority for 1995–96 represents an increase of £12.57 million, or 4.0 per cent. over the equivalent figure for 1994–95. The 1995–96 budget for the Greater Manchester Police Authority is a matter for that authority.