To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 29 October 2007, Official Report, columns 667-68W, on local authorities: grants, what the grant per capita to each local authority was in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10; and what the average grant per capita to (i) district councils, (ii) unitary councils, (iii) county councils, (iv) metropolitan councils and (v) London boroughs was in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10. (274714)

1 refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 19 January 2009, Official Report, column 1074W.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which shire counties do not levy a separate fire precept. (274769)

No shire counties levy a separate fire precept.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much debt each local authority had in the most recent year for which figures are available. (274786)

I have today placed in the Library of the House, a table containing details of the gross debt that each local authority in England had at 31 March 2008.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how long local authorities retain revenue raised through reductions in council tax discounts on (a) empty and (b) second homes before equalisation processes in the calculation of Government grants are applied. (274790)

The distribution of formula grant to local authorities in England takes account of the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the authority, together with its relative ability to raise council tax, expressed in terms of the council tax base. We then ensure that every authority receives at least a minimum percentage increase (the ‘floor’) year-on-year on a like-for-like basis. In order to pay for the cost of the floor, we scale back the increase in grant above the floor for other authorities.

Since the introduction of multi-year settlements, we have used projected tax base data in the calculation of formula grant. The starting point for the tax base projections used in the current three-year settlement, covering 2008-09 to 2010-11, is the tax base as at 8 October 2007 adjusted for student exemptions. This is then increased annually by the Secretary of State’s estimate of the average annual increase in the tax base for the authority between 10 October 2005 and 8 October 2007.

The actual discount applied to long-term empty homes is applied for all authorities in calculating the tax base for the purposes of distributing formula grant. Any reduction in the discount applied to long-term empty homes commencing after 8 October 2007, will not be reflected in the projected taxbase calculations until the 2011-12 settlement.

Since 1 April 2004, although billing authorities have been able to reduce the council tax discount for second homes in their area (to between 10 and 50 per cent.), a discount of 50 per cent. has continued to be assumed for all authorities in calculating the tax base for the purposes of distributing formula grant.