asked the Minister for the Environment the number of jobs he expects to be lost in the local authorities under his control as a result of the cut in the rates support grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Local Authority Job Losses.
32.
To put matters in perspective, the rates support grant reduction announced for next year amounts to less than 3 per cent of the estimated revenue accruing to local authorities in 1987. The rates support grant is only one of a number of factors which have an influence on staffing levels in local authorities. Other factors would include the level of income from other sources and the potential for savings on manpower costs from measures such as non-filling of vacancies arising through natural wastage; redeployment: career breaks and other economies. Local authority managers are preparing, in the context of the 1988 Estimates process, targets for the number of voluntary redundancies to be achieved. Full information on the overall reduction in staffing levels envisaged will not be available pending the completion of this process.