§ Mr. TippingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the specific spending pressures identified in the proposals of the local authority associations in the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance which have been recognised in his recent announcement on total spending for 1997–98. [9701]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordMy right hon. Friend took into account all pressures on local government spending for 1997–98 as well as the scope for efficiencies. In forming his assessment of pressures, he had regard to the proposals which the local authority associations put to the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance. The provisional total standard spending announced by my right hon. Friend represents his view of the appropriate610W level of local authority spending in the round. It is not possible to identify how much has been included to meet individual burdens or pressures.
§ Mr. RookerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the provision for 1996–97 in respect of recycling supplementary credit approvals for local authorities; and what was the equivalent figure in the current year. [9787]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordPlanned provision for the recycling supplementary credit approval programme in 1997–98 is nearly £2.2 million, which we propose to devote to the promotion of home composting. The provision for 1996–97 is currently £10 million.
The reduction in the resources available next year reflects the additional funding for recycling which is likely to be available from capital challenge allocations, landfill tax environment bodies, our initiatives on producer responsibility for packaging waste and newspapers, together with benefits arising from the private finance initiative.