§ Mr. Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will provide financial assistance to Essex County Council to meet the redundancy costs of local government re-organisation in Essex. [45470]
§ Mr. RaynsfordResources in the form of supplementary credit approvals (SCAs) are made available to reorganising authorities under the Local Government Reorganisation Costs Scheme. Under the scheme Essex County Council have received allocations of maximum amounts totalling £5.483 million (£2.8 million for 1997–98 and £2.683 million for 1998–99) which may be used for any costs eligible under the scheme, including redundancy costs.