§ Phil SawfordTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities received a grant settlement that was limited by the ceiling in 2003–04; and what percentage increase each of these authorities would have received if a ceiling had not been imposed. [137130]
§ Mr. RaynsfordA table showing the percentage increase in grant before floors and ceilings for all authorities is available in the Library of the House.
§ Phil SawfordTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost would have been in 2003–04 of funding local authorities in accordance with the funding formula if a ceiling had not been imposed. [137131]
§ Mr. RaynsfordIf the same grant floors had been retained then the full cost of the floor would have to be entirely financed via the scaling factor for all authorities above the floor. The factors by which grant increases were scaled back would have changed from approximately 0.94 to 0.84 for education authorities; from approximately 0.90 to 0.53 for police and fire authorities; and from approximately 0.95 to 0.64 for shire districts.
Alternatively additional money would have to be found to meet the cost of the floor. The total cost of the floor was £266,591,602 for all authorities in 2003–04.
§ Phil SawfordTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he is taking to remove the ceiling imposed on local authorities in order to bring their grant settlement up to the funding formula in future years. [137132]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe White Paper 'Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services' made clear the intentions of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to retain floors and ceilings in order to ensure that all authorities receive a reasonable increase in grant, and to avoid large fluctuations in grant from year to year.