§ Mr. CawseyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of rural deprivation in the local government formula grant review. [78880]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe formula grant review options that were put forward as part of the summer consultation were informed by evidence on relative costs of providing services across the country. Further work on measuring deprivation was carried out during the consultation period as part of discussions with groups representing rural authorities. We are currently taking decisions on the new system to be implemented following that consultation, and in doing so are considering carefully all of the evidence, pressures and representations that we received, including those from rural areas.