§ Ms LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his proposals are for local government revenue spending and grant support in 1999–2000; and what his plans are for the following two years. [63603]
§ Mr. MichaelFollowing the Comprehensive Spending Review and extensive consultation on my spending priorities in Wales, I propose that total standard spending in 1999–2000 should be £3,243 million, an increase of £143 million or 4.6 per cent. on the comparable figure for 1998–99.
This is a good settlement for local government and for Wales as a whole. It is not just about money but about partnership. It paves the way for the co-operation I have offered to the leaders of local authorities which is aimed at improving services and extending opportunity everywhere in Wales. It also sets the scene for a strong partnership between the National Assembly for Wales and local government which I believe is essential for the success of both.
The increase includes an additional £70 million revenue spending for education and extra provision so that local authorities can:
improve children's services in line with the Government's response to the report by Sir William Utting;provide at least half price bus transport for pensioners from April 1999; andimplement a new regime to deal with contaminated land with effect from 1 July 1999.I announced details of the settlement for police authorities on 2 December 1998.
I propose to set aggregate external finance at £2,827 million, of which I plan to make available £1,914 million in revenue support grant and council tax reduction scheme grant, £656 million in redistributed business rates and £257 million for specific grants.
I propose that the non-domestic rate poundage for Wales should rise by 3.2 per cent. in line with the Retail Prices Index for the 12 months to September 1998, giving a rate of 44.3p in the pound for 1999–2000.
There will be a scheme to limit council tax increases; it will be similar to the targeted scheme that operated for 1998–99 and I will announce further details shortly.
I also intend that there should be new arrangements for council tax benefit subsidy, to prevent the full cost of excessive council tax increases being passed onto the national tax payer in the form of higher subsidy payments. The arrangements will apply to county and county borough councils only in 1999–2000, and the National Assembly for Wales will be able to extend them to police authorities the following year.
I expect local authorities to budget prudently, and I am prepared to use my capping powers if they decide to make excessive increases in council tax.
Looking ahead to the following two years my plans provide for total standard spending and aggregate external 230W finance (net of specific grants) to be as reflected in the table. The National Assembly will take the final decisions. My proposals for 1999–2000, on the same net basis, are also given for comparative purposes:
1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Net TSS (£ million) 2,986 3,128 3,279 Of which Net AEF (£ million) 2,570 2,671 2,778 Percentage increase in net TSS 5.1 4.8 4.8 Real terms percentage increase in net TSS 2.5 2.2 2.3 Further information on the proposed settlement, including details for individual authorities and the detailed arrangements for council tax benefit subsidy, will be announced shortly. I will also be discussing with the Welsh Local Government Association a range of performance measures linked to this announcement.
My Department has written today to the Welsh Local Government Association and all local authorities in Wales to initiate a consultation on my proposals for next year's settlement. Copies of the consultation letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. LivseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money was allocated in the 1998–99 standard spending assessment to each local authority in Wales to repay capital debt. [62652]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesThere are no separately identifiable allocations within standard spending assessments for repayment of debt. The amounts in respect of overall capital charges included in the 1998–99 standard spending assessments are given in the following table.
231W
£000 Isle of Anglesey 6,772 Gwynedd 10,608 Conwy 8,659 Denbighshire 9,015 Flintshire 12,691 Wrexham 9,739 Powys 12,603 Ceredigion 5,696 Pembrokeshire 10,800 Carmarthenshire 14,353 Swansea 22,312 Neath Port Talbot 12,529 Bridgend 10,882 The Vale of Glamorgan 9,011 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 17,065 Merthyr Tydfil 5,019 Caerphilly 12,061 Blaenau Gwent 7,606 Torfaen 8,982 Monmouthshire 5,469 Newport 13,204 Cardiff 24,236 Dyfed-Powys Police 649 Gwent Police 821 North Wales Police 678 South Wales Police 2,412 Total Unitary Authorities 249,311 Total Police Authorities 4,560 Total Wales 253,871 Capital charges cover repayment of debt, interest payments on outstanding debt, non-operational leasing charges, and for the police authorities capital expenditure charged to the revenue account. The figures are net of capital financing grants.
§ Mr. LivseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures his Department has taken to encourage local authorities in Wales to repay debt. [62653]
Mr. Jon Owen JonesLocal authorities' new borrowing is regulated by the issue of credit approvals in accordance with Government policy. Authorities have a statutory duty to make provision to meet their existing debts. It is for them to decide whether it would be prudent to repay any loan before they are contractually required to do so.