§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what advice she will give to councils in setting their budget for 2002–03 in advance of the Government deciding how much assistance will be given for the storage of refrigerators; [33602]
(2) whether she intends to make up shortfalls between individual councils' expenditure on the storage of refrigerators and the grant given for that purpose to each council for the period December 2001 to March 2002; [33603]
(3) when she expects to announce the level of assistance to councils for the storage of refrigerators for the financial year 2002–03. [33604]
§ Mr. Meacher£6 million was added to the provisional local government finance settlement for 2002–03 to cover the costs of implementing the ozone depleting substances regulation relating to the period 1 January 2002 to 31 March 2002.
We are continuing to assess the impacts of the regulation and will determine what further action, including guidance to local authorities, is required for 2002–03.