To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much central Government funding Bedfordshire County Council received in each year since 1997 towards its pension fund. (133371)

Apart from a proportion of the indexed sum of £130 million added to the financial settlement for local government since 1998 to mitigate the effect on their pension funds of the abolition of tax relief on dividend income, Bedfordshire county council receives no central Government funding directly for this purpose. The Local Government Pension Scheme is a funded, statutory scheme, with employer, employee and investment income being the main sources of income. Data for the scheme are found on the Department's website at:

www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/pensions.htm