HC Deb 08 March 2004 vol 418 cc1376-7W
Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of local authority expenditure was spent on(a) waste disposal and (b) waste recycling in each of the last five years. [158962]

Mr. Raynsford

The proportion of local authority net current expenditure spent on waste disposal in the last five years is in the following table. Waste recycling costs are not reported separately.

Percentage
1999–00 1.45
2000–01 1.44
2001–02 1.47
2002–03 1.45
2003–041 1.51
1 Budgeted figures
Source:
1999–2000 to 2002–03 R06 and RS forms and 2003–04 Budget

Estimate Returns

Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how local authority funding for(a) waste disposal and (b) recycling is calculated. [158963]

Mr. Raynsford

Central Government funding for waste disposal and recycling is provided mainly through formula grant (Revenue support grant plus redistributed business rates) to local authorities.

Recycling is the responsibility of both the waste disposal and waste collection authorities. It is therefore part of the group of services included in both the county-level and the district-level Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services (EPCS) Formula Spending Share (FSS). The formula used for both the county-level and District-Level EPCS FSS can be found in Chapter 4 of the Local Government Finance Report (England).

Formula Spending Shares are neither grant nor are they the Government's assessment of how much an authority should spend on a particular service. They are simply the formulae used in the calculation of formula grant. Formula grant is unhypothecated i.e. it may be spent by the authority for any purpose. It is up to each authority to decide how much should be spent on each service given its local priorities.