§ 28. Mr. Redmayneasked the Minister of Health what total of capital expenditure by local authorities has been authorised as expenditure related to the Festival of Britain.
§ Mr. DaltonI would refer the hon. Member to the reply given him by my predecessor on 15th December last.
§ Mr. RedmayneDoes the Minister realise that that reply shows that no record had been made of this expenditure, and does not he think that the expenditure to which local authorities have been incited in aid of the Festival of Britain is of great public interest?
§ Mr. DaltonThe hon. Gentleman has, I think, another Question on the same point, and perhaps he will allow me to answer this Question when we come to the subsequent Question.
§ 30. Mr. Redmayneasked the Minister of Health whether requests by local authorities for loans or for authorisation of capital works related to the Festival of Britain are required to be clearly stated as being for that purpose.
§ Mr. DaltonNo, Sir. Local authorities have no power to carry out works or borrow money for Festival of Britain purposes; they must rely on their ordinary statutory powers for authority to borrow for works they propose to undertake in connection with the Festival. The fact that they have the Festival in mind will not necessarily appear in their application for loan sanction.
§ Mr. RedmayneNone the less, is it not a fact that this expenditure is antedated for this purpose? Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that the capital investment involved will not be prejudicial to housing, for example, or some other useful purpose?
§ Mr. DaltonI am quite prepared to look into the question, but I think that very often a local authority has a number of purposes in mind with a view to improving and cleaning up their area, and may also desire to do it in time for the Festival of Britain.