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17 Dec 2007 : Column 1150W—continued
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) resource DEL and (b) net aggregate external finance was allocated to local authorities in England in each year from 1997-98; and how much has been budgeted for each year to 2010-11. [173330]
John Healey: The following table provides the information requested on net aggregate external finance (AEF); and figures for total AEF. The figures up to 2007-08 are those announced at the time of the annual local government finance settlement. The figures for 2008-09 onwards are those I announced to the House on 6 December 2007 in the provisional local government finance settlement 2008-09. These totals are not adjusted for changes in finance or function and cannot be compared between years.
Total AEF is the total of Government revenue support for local authorities' core services and includes the total of general grant support and specific grants. Net AEF is the amount set aside for revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates.
| £ billion | ||
| Net AEF | Total AEF | |
The Department does not keep historical records over time of the amount allocated through resource DEL to local authorities, which will come from a range of departmental expenditure limits. Total AEF is the best measure of the overall amount of revenue grant provided by Government for core local authority services.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what level of local government revenue expenditure was financed by specific grants, in absolute cash terms, in each year since 1997-98. [173335]
John Healey: The level of local government revenue expenditure financed by specific grants, in cash terms, in each year since 1997-98 is shown in the following table.
| £ million | |
| Specific grants | |
| Notes: 1. The large change in specific grant in 2006-07 is largely due to changes in the way the expenditure on schools is funded. Local authorities now receive dedicated schools grant, included in specific grants, replacing funding previously included in formula grant. 2. Specific grants are defined as the specific grants inside aggregate external finance (AEF), i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services. 3. Figures exclude grants outside AEF (i.e. where funding is not for authorities' core services, but is passed to a third party, for example, rent allowances and rebates), capital grants, funding for the local authorities' housing management responsibilities and those grant programmes (such as European funding) where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area. 4. Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities. Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns | |
Local Government Finance: Elderly
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration she gave to the percentage of the population aged over 65 years in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Tamworth constituency when determining local authority grant allocation; and if she will make a statement. [173075]
John Healey: The sub-national population projections of people aged 65 and over are used in the Social Services for Older People Relative Need Formula (RNF) to determine the number of projected household and supported residents aged 65 years and over. A Social Services for Older People RNF is calculated for Staffordshire county council since it is the authority with responsibility for social services within its area.
Local Government Finance: Immigrants
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what considerations she gave to the number of immigrants in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Tamworth constituency when determining local authority grant allocation; and if she will make a statement. [173076]
John Healey: For the majority of the Relative Needs Formulae used in the calculation of the Relative Needs Amount, the client group is based on the sub-national population projections for the appropriate age group. The sub-national population projections estimate the number of people who are resident in the area for over a year, including immigrants.
When calculating formula grant allocations, we use the best data that are available, that treat all authorities on a consistent basis and that are available at the time. In the case of the population projections, these are the revised 2004-based sub-national population projections produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what assessment her Department has made of the effect of changes in net immigration on (a) council tax and (b) local authority funding; [171559]
(2) what estimate she has made of the effect of the change in net migration not accounted for in the Government's initial estimates on council tax bills. [171574]
John Healey:
The Government worked closely with local authorities during the comprehensive spending review 2007 to identify all pressures over the next three years, and the ways to manage them. The provisional local government finance settlement I announced recently provides local authorities with a total increase in Government grant of £2.7 billion, £3.1 billion and £3.2 billion over the next three years (increases of 4 per cent., 4.4 per cent. and 4.3 per cent. respectively). An additional £4.9 billion is potentially available by 2010-11 through the delivery of 3 per cent. efficiency gains each year. We believe that authorities are able to meet the
pressures on their services while keeping average council tax increases substantially below 5 per cent. a year.
Many migrants are, of course, self-sufficient, employed and contribute to the local economy and do not put any significant pressure on public services. However, we recognise that other types of migrants such as unaccompanied minors do create real pressures, as can large movements of people into an area in a short space of time. So we recognise that some individual local authorities are experiencing more challenges than others.
We have therefore already announced a £50 million investment over the next three years to promote community cohesion and support local authorities in preventing and managing community tensions. This money will help local authorities respond to their own particular challenges, including for example issues relating to new migration.
Local Government Finance: Public Participation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by whom the decision would be taken to hold a ballot, under her proposals to introduce powers to ballot on local spending decisions. [173228]
John Healey: “The Governance of Britain” Green Paper, issued in July, said the Government will consult on introducing powers, for example to local authorities, to ballot a local community on spending decisions. We will consult in the new year on a strategy for Participatory Budgeting, which will cover the use of ballots.
Local Government Finance: Staffordshire
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the local authority grant settlement per capita was in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [173077]
John Healey: The following table shows the average formula grant per head for (a) Staffordshire and (b) Tamworth for each year since 1997. Formula grant comprises revenue support grant and redistributed business rates. In order to compare grant on a like-for-like basis we calculate a notional adjusted formula grant for the previous year which reflects the changes to funding and function. From 2006-07 support for schools was financed through the dedicated schools grant; prior to 2006-07 support for schools was included within formula grant.
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