asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the savings in the cost of the Government car pool for the Midland region as described in his reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr, Official Report, 21 January, columns 84–5, will be repeated in other regions; and, if not, whether he will make a statement.
The savings now being sought will depend on local circumstances, but the aim is to reduce the driving staff of the regional GCS to 37 as opportunity offers, with no more than two drivers in any one centre, except for Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
| Amounts (£ million) | ||||||||
| 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80* | |||
| County councils | … | … | 1,642·6 | 1,999·5 | 2,113·7 | 2,105·8 | 2,243·2 | 2,113·1 |
| District councils | … | … | 991·0 | 1,499·2 | 1,630·0 | 1,671·8 | 1,823·8 | 2,318·2 |
| Metropolitan authorities | … | … | 1,749·2 | 2,286·3 | 2.547·4 | 2,688·0 | 3,014·5 | 3,313·8 |
| Total rate support grant | … | … | 4,384·0 | 5,788·0 | 6,295·0 | 6,470·0 | 7,086·0 | 7,751·0 |
| * The amounts for 1979–80 are based on the first Increase Order. | ||||||||
| Percentage change, year on previous year | |||||||
| 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 | |||
| County councils | … | … | 21·7 | 5·7 | —0·4 | 6·5 | —5·8 |
| District councils | … | … | 51·3 | 8·7 | 2·6 | 9·1 | 27·1 |
| Metropolitan authorities | … | … | 30·7 | 11·4 | 5·5 | 12·2 | 9·9 |
| Total rate support grant | … | … | 32·0 | 8·8 | 2·8 | 9·5 | 9·4 |
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the rate support grant needs element, in each year since 1974 for (a) metropolitan districts, (b) district councils and (c) each of the 32 London boroughs in money