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10 Oct 2005 : Column 370W—continued

Local Government Employees (Political Activities)

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Government expects to publish its conclusions on the consultation on the code of conduct for local government employees and restrictions on political activities. [15241]

Mr. Woolas: We are considering the response to this consultation as part of a wider review, including the Standards Board's own review of the code of conduct for members, of the conduct regime for local government. We plan to announce our conclusions on the way forward later this autumn, once we have received the Board's recommendations for the members' code.

Local Government Finance

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what wage data and calculations the area cost adjustments are based. [15663]


 
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Mr. Woolas: The area cost adjustment (ACA) is the element of the funding formula that reflects variation in the cost of service delivery between local authorities. It has two components. The labour cost adjustment is the largest component and takes account of variation in local authority pay costs. The rates cost adjustment is a much smaller and accounts for variations in business rates costs. In 2005–06 it was calculated using the following data:

Detailed information on the calculation of the ACA is available on the ODPM website at:

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently consulting on options to change the local government funding formula, including options for changing the ACA calculation. The consultation document is available at on the ODPM website at:

The consultation ends on 10 October 2005.

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2005, Official Report, column 315W, on local government finance, what the recommended levels of cash reserves were for each London borough from the district auditor. [16341]

Mr. Woolas: No information is collected centrally on any views expressed.

A local authority external auditor may express views on the reserves held by the authority, but it is for the authority to decide on the level of reserves it should budget for. It is not the role of the auditor to recommend a level.

Any view expressed by the external auditor of a London borough on the adequacy of the council's cash reserves would be a matter between the council and the auditor.

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much in (a) revenue support grant and (b) specific grants in (i) cash and (ii) real terms has been provided to the City of York in each year since 1997–98. [16348]

Mr. Woolas: The amounts of (a) revenue support grant and (b) specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) City of York has received in cash and real terms each year since 1997–98 are shown respectively in Table A and Table B.
 
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Table A: Revenue support grant in cash and real terms provided to the City of York in each year since 1997–98
£000

CashReal terms
(2004–05 prices)
1997–9838,59745,338
1998–9939,27444,966
1999–200039,47844,328
2000–0136,90040,898
2001–0240,30943,599
2002–0335,89037,624
2003–0445,36146,325
2004–0551,76151,761




Source:
ODPM Revenue Outturn (RO) data, ONS GDP deflators




Table B: Specific grant inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) in cash and real terms provided to the City of York in each year since 1997–98
£000

CashReal terms
(2004–05 prices)
1997–983,1283,674
1998–994,1134,709
1999–20006,1856,945
2000–0110,97712,166
2001–0215,04416,272
2002–0321,17222,195
2003–0431,19231,855
2004–0531,74331,743




Source:
ODPM Revenue Outturn (RO) data, ONS GDP deflators



Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities. Additionally, revenue support grant can go up or down from one year to the next as a result of decreases and increases in the amount of redistributed business rates received by the authority.

Specific grants inside AEF are those revenue grantspaid for councils' core services (such as waste collection), excluding funding for local authorities' housing management.

The real terms figures have been revalued for previous years at 2004–05 prices using the latest GDP deflators.

Mr. Carswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding local authorities in England received from central Government during the last financial year for which figures are available. [16597]

Mr. Woolas: In 2004–05 local government received £60,357 million of central Government funding.

Central Government funding is defined here as the sum of specific grants inside Aggregate external finance (AEF), formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and police grant) and Greater London authority (GLA) grant.

Local authority revenue expenditure and financing England: Provisional outturn 2004–05" found at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/fmance/stats/natstats.htm#rev

Local Government Ombudsman

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many complaints the local government ombudsman has received about each London borough in each year since 1997; [15567]
 
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(2) how many cases the local government ombudsman received relating to each London borough in each year since 1997 [15591]

Mr. Woolas: The local government ombudsman does not make a distinction between complaints received about and complaints relating to local authorities.

Information held by the ombudsman on the number of complaints relating to each London borough since 1997 is shown on the following tables:
1997–981998–991999–20002000–01
Barking and Dagenham78839863
Barnet76101126121
Bexley25363646
Brent211276337289
Bromley46638284
Camden175175149157
City of London71177
Croydon106118137182
Ealing147222257308
Enfield7310810792
Greenwich9896103134
Hackney251285465961
Hammersmith and Fulham7110187100
Haringey164179170155
Harrow35504352
Havering51564150
Hillingdon48576264
Hounslow123110128139
Islington243350417667
Kensington and Chelsea66645668
Kingston upon Thames34474938
Lambeth6496291,0611,202
Lewisham218204241223
Merton49515859
Newham234204233263
Redbridge63668561
Richmond upon Thames50725150
Southwark202308344388
Sutton37545954
Tower Hamlets186225167177
Waltham Forest110153169183
Wandsworth129155158149
Westminster158110178322

2001–022002–032003–042004–05
Barking and Dagenham7895133103
Barnet98111131155
Bexley37314331
Brent192204201174
Bromley118115124110
Camden191176160258
City of London812914
Croydon136114127135
Ealing336311347254
Enfield10995103114
Greenwich8873102102
Hackney650431395412
Hammersmith and Fulham8210110790
Haringey187199203154
Harrow59523861
Havering66657285
Hillingdon69675860
Hounslow128157160169
Islington433377316222
Kensington and Chelsea79487645
Kingston upon Thames36424235
Lambeth1,050606647570
Lewisham228252240249
Merton60619776
Newham223187176165
Redbridge74657083
Richmond upon Thames49504750
Southwark374334296309
Sutton63566366
Tower Hamlets170182191175
Waltham Forest154144172179
Wandsworth150138102110
Westminster251196273355

 
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Mr. Gibb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints he has received regarding the operation of the current local government ombudsman. [16437]

Mr. Woolas: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.


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