asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the desirability of conserving fuel supplies by a greater utilisation of public transport, he will review his Department's formula for providing assistance to local authorities in this area of responsibility.

The distribution of transport supplementary grant for 1975–76 has already been determined in accordance with the Rate Support Grant (No. 2) Order 1974. I shall decide later in the year the extent to which changes in the basis of allocation should be made for 1976–77. But the total revenue support expenditure accepted for transport supplementary grant will be within the limits set by the Government's policy as presented in Circular 171/74 and in the White Paper on Public Expenditure to 1978–79 (Cmnd 5879).