§ David BurnsideTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what cash reserves are available to Castlereagh Borough Council; and what statutory requirement there is for local authorities to keep reserves. [103359]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyI am not in a position to state the level of cash reserves available to Castlereagh Borough Council. There is no statutory requirement for district councils to keep reserves nor is there any obligation on them to publish annual accounts. There is provision, however, in local government legislation which allows the ratepayers of the district access and opportunity to examine the detail of the accounts of their local council.
§ David BurnsideTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the indebtedness is of the councils in Northern Ireland. [103360]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyThe latest figures available relating to the level of indebtedness of district councils are at 31 March 2002 and have been extracted from the unaudited accounts for the financial year 2001–2002. The amounts of loans outstanding, per head of population for each district council are set out in the following table.
893W
District council Amount (£) Antrim BC 232 Ards BC 231 Armagh C and DC 439 Ballymena BC 344 Ballymoney BC 125 Banbridge DC 321 Belfast CC 88 Carrickfergus BC 239 Castlereagh BC 277 Coleraine BC 385 Cookstown DC 55 Craigavon BC 160 Derry CC 188 Down DC 136 Dungannon and ST BC 48 Fermanagh DC 47 Larne BC 167 Limavady BC 265 Lisburn BC 250 Magherafelt DC 2 Moyle DC 310 Newry and Mourne DC 252 Newtownabbey BC 369 North Down BC 200 Omagh DC 209 Strabane DC 73
§ David BurnsideTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what level of debt Castlereagh Borough Council has acquired up to the end of the last financial year. [103361]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyAt 31 March 2002, the amount of loans outstanding, per head of Castlereagh Borough Council's population is 277. This figure has been extracted from the unaudited account for the financial year 2001/2002.