§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister which metropolitan authorities have developed a medium term financial strategy for the next three to five years. [155993]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThis information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, from April 2004, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's Prudential Code requires all local authorities to prepare each year estimates of their revenue and capital spending for three years ahead. They are also required to consider known significant variations beyond that timeframe. The Government strongly supports this requirement, and have given statutory backing to the Prudential Code using powers in the Local Government Act 2003.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the budget overspend was for each metropolitan authority in each of the last three financial years; and what estimate he has made of budget overspends for the 2003–04 financial year. [155994]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe amount by which metropolitan authority spend has exceeded their budget forecast for 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 is as tabled. A negative figure shows that the authority spent less than their budget estimate.
No estimate has been made of the budget overspend for the 2003–04 financial year.
333W
£000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Barnsley -7,888 -1,702 -9,628 Birmingham -9,905 -6,684 -20,046 Bolton 3,083 -2,094 1,286 Bradford -13,138 -10,875 -3,503 Bury -4,110 -1,352 -2,311 Calderdale -2,249 143 155 Coventry 34,985 11,743 14,953 Doncaster -8,866 -220 -296
£000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Dudley 9 390 -1,836 Gateshead -8.374 14,273 11,780 Kirklees -3.420 -7,468 -4,359 Knowsley -996 -733 2,196 Leeds -5,266 742 -2,778 Liverpool 16.413 5,374 -17,949 Manchester -13,045 -13,071 -12,674 Newcastle upon Tyne -2.440 -1,468 -14,636 North Tyneside 7.410 4,188 4,185 Oldham 496 1,760 514 Rochdale 220 -389 -1,887 Rotherham 2,288 -2,270 276 Salford 666 -549 363 Sandwell -8,208 -7,744 1,179 Sefton -3,987 -2,270 983 Sheffield -3,864 -16,405 -19,471 Solihull -3,359 1,855 -2,353 South Tyneside -4,222 -5,943 -5,264 St. Helens -5,165 -6,956 -2,938 Stockport 1,606 -1,607 -4,647 Sunderland -57,687 -5,254 4,611 Tameside -3,695 -8,349 -819 TratTord -19,111 -2,197 454 Wakefield -8,581 -3,063 7,077 Walsall 919 -4,653 -2,226 Wigan -7,581 -5,575 -611 Wirral 1,223 -1,057 1,855 Wolverhampton -13,473 -9,636 -2,462 Notes: The data are taken from the RA budget and RS outturn forms for each year. The large under spend figure for Sunderland for 2000–01 is mainly attributable to a revenue receipt of £53.9 million in March 2001 being included in their accounts for that year.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister which metropolitan authorities have been warned by his Department that he may apply a council tax cap for the next financial year. [155995]
§ Mr. RaynsfordAll local authorities have been put on notice that the Government considers that they can and should deliver council tax increases in low single figures in 2004–05. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not pre-judging criteria for capping and will look at authorities' budgets and council tax figures before coming to a view on capping principles.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister which metropolitan authorities have been identified by the Audit Commission in the last 10 years as having serious shortcomings in their financial controls; and what action his Department has taken in each case. [155996]
§ Mr. RaynsfordUntil the Best Value framework was established by the Local Government Act 1999 and the results of Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPAs) became available, central Government did not hold comprehensive information on which authorities the Audit Commission had identified as having serious shortcomings in their financial controls. Two metropolitan authorities now have been identified under these processes: Walsall, as the result of a corporate governance review, which found significant weaknesses in its financial processes; and North Tyneside, which scored the lowest possible rating for financial standing in its CPA.
Both Walsall and North Tyneside received overall assessments of "poor" in their CPA assessments. In common with other authorities assessed as poor, the 334W Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has appointed a lead official to work closely with each authority, and is providing support at the appropriate level to achieve recovery, including thorough advice and help with capacity building.