HC Deb 14 February 1997 vol 290 cc331-2W
Mr. Barry Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many councils have spent above the capping limit; and if he will make a statement.[15142]

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Legally no local authority can set a budget above its cap. However, an authority can set a budget above the level of its provisional cap. Only one authority has done this. Aberconwy borough council set a budget for 1993– its provisional cap, but because of the exceptional expenditure arising from the flooding in Llandudno in June 1993, it was designated at the level of the budget it had set. An authority's budget for capping purposes excludes some types of spending.