§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to take account of care for the disabled when deciding the revenue support grant settlement for local authorities; and what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities of meeting the specific needs of disabled people. [14204]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordFunding of services for disabled people is provided for through the standard spending assessments for personal social services. In 1993–94, based on figures provided by local authorities, the net cost of providing social services for physically disabled adults aged under 65 was some £350 million. Expenditure on services for disabled children or elderly people cannot be extracted from the figures available: 1993–94 is the latest year for which we have outturn figures.