§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will review standard spending assessment formulae with a view to including incentives for local authorities to use vehicles which use liquid petroleum gas. [41950]
§ Angela EagleProposals for changing standard spending assessment (SSA) formulae should be brought to the SSA Sub-Group of the Settlement Working Group, where possible changes to formulae are discussed by central and local government representatives. It should be noted, however, that SSAs are a measure of what an authority would need to spend in order to provide a similar level of service as other authorities, taking account of its demographic, social, economic and geographical characteristics. SSAs are not intended to provide incentives for local authorities to behave in any particular way. We seek to achieve this by using measures which do not depend upon the policies of local authorities.
A number of local authorities have benefited from grants from the Energy Saving Trust towards the purchase of vehicles which use liquefied petroleum gas and other alternative fuels. These grants, which are made through the Trust's Powershift programme, are funded by my Department.