§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what account the Government take of the level of individual local authority balances when setting (i) expenditure control totals, (ii) standard spending assessments and (iii) revenue support grants; if such balances are correlated to specific purposes; and what plans he has to change the treatment of local authority balances. [57771]
572W
§ Ms ArmstrongThe Government take no account of the level of reserves held by individual local authorities when deciding on overall spending plans or grant distribution. However, in assessing overall spending pressures on local government, we do make a broad assumption about the extent to which local authorities will budget to draw down from reserves. We have no plans to change this treatment. According to information received from local authorities, at 1 April 1998 they held £467.3 million in Local Management of Schools reserves, £2,705.6 million in other earmarked reserves, and £1,845.6 million in unallocated reserves.