§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 4 February 1999,Official Report, column 716, on council tax benefit subsidy, if he will calculate the information requested using information on an authority 1998–99 taxbase and summarised by class of authority and by grouping with authorities with similar levels of benefit dependency. [70540]
§ Ms ArmstrongI do not expect authorities to spend above their guideline, but I have today placed in the Library of the House tables showing the reduction in council tax benefit subsidy on the assumptions specified, expressed both in cash and as a proportion of the authority's yield from council tax for standard spending. The tables also give the budgeted proportion of council tax yield accounted for by council tax benefit in 1998–99, and the data are provided in electronic form to enable any desired grouping of authorities.