§ 12. Mr. MacCollasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many local authorities, for each of the last two convenient years, applied for expenditure in excess of normal to be admitted for rate deficiency grant; how many of these applications were allowed; and what was the total amount of grant paid in respect of this expenditure.
§ Sir K. JosephFor the reasons mentioned in my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary's reply to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Boyden) on 22nd January, invitations to apply have so far been issued for 1959–60 only. The replies from some 150 authorities are now being considered and I hope to settle most of the cases in the course of the next few weeks. The amount of grant at issue for 1959–60 is about £134,000 out of £100 million, or about one-tenth of 1 per cent. of the total.
§ Mr. MacCollWhen the right hon. Gentleman is considering what action he will take on these applications, will he bear in mind the special needs of those authorities which wish to spend money on capital works in areas of high unemployment?
§ Sir K. Joseph indicated assent.