Local Government

Hugh Bayley
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by (a) local authorities in England and (b) City of York council on employing staff, including education staff, in (i) 2002-03 and (ii) 2005-06; and what the percentage change was in expenditure on staff over that period.

Mr. Woolas
The information requested is listed in the following table.

Employee expenditure12002-03 (£ billion)2005-06 (£ billion)Between 2002-03 and 2005-062 (Percentage change)City of York council0.1060.13931.1England44.34555.51525.21 Total expenditure on employees as reported by authorities to Communities and Local Government on revenue outturn (RO) forms. This includes all direct and indirect employee expenses and contributions to employee-related provisions, including national insurance contributions, pensions and employee related expenses. 2 Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in the method of reporting the information. In particular, the outturn data for 2002-03 have been calculated on a non-FRS (financial reporting standard) 17 basis whilst the outturn data for 2005-06 have been calculated on an FRS 17 basis. Hence, figures for the different years may not be directly comparable.