§ Mr. AllasonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the transitional funding allocated to future unitary local authorities includes the cost of staff dedicated to supporting and researching PFI projects. [10408]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordStaff supporting and researching PFI are not unique to future unitary local authorities and all sensible authorities will be giving serious consideration to PFI possibilities. The cost of staff dedicated to supporting and researching PFI projects is treated as an on-going cost and not eligible for transitional funding under the local government reorganisation costs scheme. Through the scheme, resources are made available to meet the one-off indirect costs of reorganisation.