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Local Authorities (Government Assistance)

Volume 975: debated on Wednesday 12 December 1979

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76.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his plans to give additional financial assistance to those local authorities which have particularly severe social problems.

I intend to maintain the basic objective of rate support grant distribution, which is to enable all local authorities, taking account of their different needs and circumstances, to provide a similiar standard of service for a similar rate poundage. I recognise that some authorities face particularly severe problems of urban decay which are best dealt with outside the framework of a general grant, and we shall continue to provide them with special assistance through an urban programme whose value is being maintained in real terms.