§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has commissioned on the use of travel-to-work areas to calculate area cost adjustment; what further studies have been commissioned into area cost adjustments, and if he will make a statement. [38918]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordWe commissioned research into the possible use of travel-to-work areas from the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies at 751W Newcastle university. The report of this work has subsequently been discussed with the local authority associations in the standard spending assessment sub-group.
This sub-group has received a number of other papers on area cost adjustment which include or comment on other research work. These are a report from a technical sub-group which sought to investigate alternatives to the current methodology, a commentary by the south east counties on the alternatives, and a paper by the metropolitan districts which covered a report by Ernst and Young on the current methodology.
The Minister for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration has announced his proposals for an independent review of the adjustment. I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend gave on 17 October 1995, Official Report, column 185–86.