§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the amount of government support to county councils in England in the local government financial settlements for 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95 compared with the rate of inflation in each year.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesUnder the local government finance system in operation prior to 1 April 1993 both revenue support grant and non-domestic rates for an area were paid into the collection funds administered by the charging authorities in that area. It is therefore not possible to provide a figure for the amount of RSG and NDR for county councils for 1992–93.
The total of RSG and NDR entitlements for county councils in England was £13,287.431 million in 1993–94 rising to £13,641.681 million in 1994–95, an increase of 2.7 per cent.
The GDP deflator is a general measure of domestically-generated inflation in the economy. In 1994–95 it is estimated to be 2 per cent. higher than in 1993–94.
§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what increase took place in the amount of government grant offered to Surrey in the local government financial settlement for 1995–96 as a result of representations received during the consultation period, and for what specific reasons the increase was made.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesSurrey county council, in common with a number of other local authorities, made representations that the number of pupils involved in the calculations in the consultation paper was inaccurate. In each case we have incorporated the new figures where they were notified prior to the settlement being laid before the House.
The effect on Surrey was to increase the revenue support grant by £2.934 million.
§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 3 February,Official Report, columns 910–11, if he will set out by council the value of the bid for redundancy and new building costs.
§ Mr. Robert B. Jones[holding answer 15 February 1995]: The bids for redundancy and staff compensation and for accommodation costs, which may include new building costs, are as follows:
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Redundancy and compensation costs £000s Accommodation £000s Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Council 500 960 Avon Avon County Council 2,625 *Nil Bath City Council 1,020 *Nil Bristol City Council 2,000 125 Northavon District Council 461 *Nil Kingswood Borough Council 430 *Nil Wansdyke District Council 632 *Nil Woodspring District Council 275 1,162
Redundancy and compensation costs £000s Accommodation £000s Cleveland Cleveland County Council 2,140 *Nil Hartlepool Borough Council 294 931 Langbaurgh on Tees Borough Council 628 8,936 Middlesbrough Borough Council 600 250 Stockton on Tees Borough Council 544 3,165 North Yorkshire North Yorkshire County Council 1,000 *Nil Ryedale District Council 100 *Nil Selby District Council 213 *Nil City of York Council 330 *Nil Humberside Humberside County Council 8,960 *Nil Beverley Borough Council 583 *Nil Boothferry Borough Council 600 *Nil Cleethorpes Borough Council 300 *Nil East Yorkshire Borough Council 959 *Nil Glanford Borough Council 500 *Nil Great Grimsby Borough Council 762 *Nil Holderness Borough Council 333 *Nil Hull City Council Nil 600 Scunthorpe Borough Council 477 *Nil Note:
A *Nil entry indicates an authority that is to be abolished and that is therefore ineligible under the transitional costs scheme to bid for accommodation costs.
§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what bids he received from local authorities in the Isle of Wight, Avon, Cleveland, North Yorkshire and Humberside for supplementary credit approvals for 1995–96; and what allocation by service block had been made for each authority.
§ Mr. Robert B. Jones[holding answer 15 February 1995]: The bids to which the hon. Member refers are set out in the answer I gave on 3 February, Official Report, columns 910–11. The allocations—which I shall announce very shortly—are not hypothecated to specific services.
§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the usable capital receipts as at 31 March 1994, for each local authority, and in total for England.
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 9 February 1995]: The total of usable capital receipts held by English local authorities at 31 March 1994 was £2.1 billion. The information for each local authority has been placed in the Library of the House. It is open to authorities to spend these receipts or to use them to repay debt. The gross debt of English authorities at 31 March 1994 was £38 billion.
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