§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his oral statement of 2 December 1997,Official Report, columns 157–64, if he will provide a breakdown of the £130 million for the transitional costs of local government reorganisation; and what criteria will determine the allocation of that transitional relief. [19457]
§ Mr. RaynsfordInitial bids from all authorities eligible to participate under the Local Government Reorganisation Costs Scheme for 1998–99 have now been received and are currently being evaluated. Details of initial maximum amounts of Supplementary Credit Approvals to be allocated will be announced shortly before Christmas.
Particular priority under the 1998–99 scheme will be given to eligible costs incurred by those authorities reorganising in 1998. The criteria of eligibility under the scheme cover expenditure in all areas where transitional 401W costs are expected to occur: staff and consultancy, redundancy and compensation, accommodation, information technology and other costs.