§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 16 December 1998,Official Report, columns 539–40, if he will make a statement on the way in which the Government will take into account future financial settlements with regards to the increased costs to local authorities of increased public access to the countryside. [66057]
§ Ms ArmstrongWe shall be consulting further with the Local Government Association on the financial implications for local authorities of our proposals for increasing public access to the countryside. The need for revenue expenditure by local authorities will be taken into account, along with other spending pressures and the scope for efficiencies, in a future local government finance settlement.