§ Mr. GillTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in rank order the amount of cash reserves held by each of the county councils.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesThe latest available estimates of the level of reserves as at 1 April 1994 are as follows. The authorities are ranked by order of reserves excluding those held by schools, non-LMS; schools' reserves are shown separately, LMS. The first column, non-LMS reserves, includes funds, which may be substantial, held for specified purposes which may not be available to the council for general use, for example funds to finance capital projects to which the authority is committed; and insurance funds where the authority is bearing its own
420WSource:
Joint Staffing watch for England
Notes:
- (i) Polytechnics and higher education institutions were transferred from the local authority sector in April 1989.
- (ii) Further education institutions became the responsibility of the Further Education Funding Council in April 1993.
§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the annual expenditure of Hampshire county council each year since 1979 expressed in cash terms, real terms and as a real term percentage increase or decrease on 1979 and on the previous year.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesThe available information is as follows. There were two changes in the system of financing authorities in the period covered by the figures in the table, along with a number of changes in local authority responsibilities. In particular, in April 1989 responsibility for polytechnics was taken out of local authority control, and in April 1993 responsibility for further education was transferred to the Further Education Funding Council. Net revenue expenditure increased in 1994–95 through expenditure financed by the care in the community special grant. For these reasons it is not always valid to make comparisons either between financial systems, or between years within a financial system.
insurance risks. These estimates are subject to amendment as authorities finalise their accounts. Compatible data on the use of balances in 1994–95 which would be needed to derive an estimate of the level of reserves at 1 April 1995 is not yet available.
421W
Estimated level of reserves at 1 April 1994 County Councils Non-LMS £000 LMS £000 Nottingham –1,492 14,965 Shropshire –557 7,789 Isle of Wight 2,258 1,516 Leicestershire 2,540 14,305 Northamptonshire 2,629 10,191 Dorset 3,510 6691
Estimated level of reserves at 1 April 1994 County Councils Non-LMS£000 LMS£000 Derbyshire 6,732 13,078 Bedfordshire 7,114 15,674 Cumbria 7,822 3,514 Warwickshire 8,576 7,015 Hereford and Worcester 10,305 14,112 West Sussex 12,070 4,748 Gloucestershire 12,252 7,041 Durham 12,549 7,810 Oxfordshire 13,162 12,395 Cleveland 13,474 9,239 Northumberland 14,573 3,666 Suffolk 14,982 13,120 Avon 16,205 11,403 Wiltshire 17,260 6.697 Humberside 23,735 8.701 Cornwall 24,354 7,371 North Yorkshire 24,776 11,828 Norfolk 24,791 9,059 East Sussex 29,181 5,829 Somerset 30,901 5,575 Cheshire 30,979 17,584 Lincolnshire 32,774 13,876 Hertfordshire 32,881 23,522 Kent 35,234 12,513 Staffordshire 38,073 10,351 Buckinghamshire 38,981 8,609 Lancashire 39,138 32,976 Berkshire 39,574 43,883 Devon 41,419 10,439 Cambridgeshire 48,602 7,930 Essex 49,465 25,039 Hampshire 67,407 25,310 Surrey 69,410 5,545 Source:
Level of reserves (outturn) at 1/4/93 appropriations to/withdrawals from reserves 1993–94 (RS returns for 1993–94).