§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the additional funds made available to local authorities to cover part of the extra expenditure they will incur as a result of the withdrawal of benefits from asylum seekers will count towards the capping limit for their expenditure; if the capping limit will apply(a) to funds local authorities have to contribute to looking after the needs of such asylum seekers and (b) to funds that 170W will be reimbursed by the Government; and what will be the position of those authorities already at or near their capping limit. [24014]
§ Mr. CurryThe funds made available to local authorities will be by way of special grant; they will, therefore, have no impact on an authority's budget requirement and will fall outside capping. Any expenditure incurred by local authorities that is not covered by the grant will form part of their budget requirement and therefore will be subject to capping.