To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 22 October 2009, Official Report, column 1645W, on local government finance, how many separate data attributes or indicators are collected as part of each of the datasets listed in the answer. (317114)

The information collected on each of the local government finance data sets can be found from the forms which can be accessed on the Department's website at:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/usefulinformation/formstimetable/

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Audit Commission has made of the cost to local authorities of central government inspection, audit and compliance in 2008-09. (317859)

This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.

Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 23 February 2010:

Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.

The Audit Commission has made no estimate of the cost to local authorities of central government inspection, audit and compliance in 2008-09.

The total fees charged to local authorities in 2008-09 for external audit by auditors appointed by the Audit Commission and for Audit Commission inspections are set out in the Commission's annual report and accounts for that year.

The inspectorates of local public services have jointly commissioned independent research into the costs to local authorities of compliance with Comprehensive Performance Assessment in 2008-09 and how this changed with the introduction of the new Comprehensive Area Assessment in 2009-10. This research is expected to be concluded in March 2010 and will be published as soon as it is available.

A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.