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5 Jan 2004 : Column 146W—continued

Identity Cards

Steve Webb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the implications of the introduction of compulsory identity cards for his Department. [143984]

Yvette Cooper: The introduction of Identity Cards is a long-term undertaking upon which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is in discussion with the Home Office. However, as the scheme is still being developed it is too early to assess the implications for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Kirklees Council (Funding)

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total change in Government funding for Kirklees Council was in each year since 1997; how much of this total came from revenue from taxation; and how much was targeted on (a) regeneration projects, (b) specific grants for education, (c) social services and (d) direct funds for education not accounted for in the local education authority budget. [144714]

Mr. Raynsford: Tabled as follows are details of revenue grants received by Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council as part of gross Aggregate External Finance (AEF) between 1996–97 to 2004–05. This does not include the amount raised by the local authority through council tax. Most of the funding is paid as general grant and it is not therefore possible to provide a figure for the amount of this funding which was targeted on specific services. Funding for grants within AEF are paid through local authorities.

£000

1996–971997–981998–991999–20002000–012001–022002–032003–042004–05
Revenue Support Grant132,598131,230142,727144,857141,631150,052144,256177,435199,354
National Non-Domestic Rates90,02684,65388,50796,074108,810106,625117,363113,867108,809
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund—————1,4962,2442,9922,992
Education Grants3,6704,1305,7138,15815,76030,84329,39727,219(35)—
Personal Social Service Grants4,4713,2443,4603,9705,4059,25814,98712,158(35)—
Supporting People———————6,727(35)—

(35) Data not available until spring 2004 when it will be reported by local authorities on their RA and RA(SG) returns.

Notes:

1. The grants are on an unadjusted basis and may not be comparable between years, because transfers of function may have taken place.

2. Information on specific grants up until 2002–03 is taken from local authority outturn returns. From 2003–04, where outturn information is not yet available this is based on local authority budget returns.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the number of people in receipt of disability living allowance and attendance allowance within a local authority area is taken into account in determining the amount of central Government block grant funding the local area receives. [145158]

Mr. Raynsford: The number of older people in receipt of disability living allowance and attendance allowance within a local authority area is one of the data indicators used in calculating the Social Services for Older People Formula Spending Share (FSS). An authority's total FSS is one of the major determinants in calculating the amount of Formula Grant for the authority.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what additional resources he is giving local authorities to meet the responsibilities he recently gave them. [145010]

Mr. Raynsford: The Government's proposals for the funding of local authority revenue spending in 2004–05 provide for an increase in Government grant of £3.6 billion, which is an increase of 7.1 per cent. over the current financial year on a like for like basis. Additional resources are provided to cover all new responsibilities when local authorities are required to meet.

Over the past seven years, local authorities have received a 30 per cent. real terms increase in grant from Government.

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the procedures adopted to circulate the additional money to local councils announced in the pre-Budget Statement, with particular reference to the allocation to the Southend-on-Sea Unitary Authority. [145354]

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Mr. Raynsford: The additional £340 million announced in the pre-Budget Statement was provided to help with the provision of children's services and liveability issues. It was therefore provided to those authorities that have responsibility for these services. This includes all unitary authorities such as Southend-on-Sea.

As announced on the 11 December 2003 the floor for authorities with education and social services responsibilities was raised from 3.5 per cent. to 4.0 per cent. and the ceiling from 5.8 per cent. to 7.5 per cent. For Shire districts, the floor was raised from 2.2 per cent. to 3.0 per cent.

Without the application of floors and ceilings, Southend-on-Sea would have received £125.829 million, a decrease of 0.5 per cent., before the pre-Budget Statement, and £126.993 million, an increase of 0.4 per cent., after the pre-Budget Statement. These increases are obviously below the floor. However in addition to the floors the Government also announced that no authority would receive a smaller grant increase than the increase in their schools FSS. This increased Southend-on-Sea's grant above the 4 per cent. floor to £131.519 million before the pre-Budget Statement. The £4,142 increase in grant received by Southend-on-Sea following the pre-Budget Statement was a consequence of the technical adjustment to the base position for floors and ceilings made for new capital investment.

Mr. Flook: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the extra amounts given to each local authority in the pre-Budget report; and what proportion of Government support already announced for 2004–05 this represents in each case. [145622]

Mr. Raynsford: A table showing the provisional distribution of the additional £340 million announced in the pre-Budget report was published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website on 11 December 2003 (see http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/0405/con2grntdiff.xls). For convenience a copy of this table is also available in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Visits

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list visits by Ministers in his Department since January 2002, broken down by (a) region and (b) county and unitary authority. [141897]

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. Since then Ministers have made the following visits on official business (the number of visits to each location is shown in brackets):


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Mobile Phone Masts

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what reasons he has for allowing mobile phone masts to be erected on top of existing buildings without the need for planning permission; and if he will make a statement. [146056]

Keith Hill: Mobile phone masts up to and including 15 metres in height installed on a building are subject to the same rules on prior approval as ground based masts of the same height. Antennas of less than four metres in height that are attached directly to buildings are subject to permitted development rights.

5 Jan 2004 : Column 149W

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