HC Deb 24 November 1971 vol 826 cc1321-3
13. Mr. Redmond

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider applying the 80 per cent. grant for restoration of derelict land to all areas whether development, intermediate or not.

Mr. Graham Page

No, Sir. The Government intend to maintaitn the present differential rates of 85 per cent. grant in the development areas, 75 per cent. in the intermediate and derelict land clearance areas and 50 per cent. elsewhere.

Mr. Redmond

Does my hon. Friend accept that that is a very disappointing reply to the people of Bolton and many parts of Lancashire which are not development areas and not intermediate areas but which have a large amount of dereliction? Is not one dark Satanic mill as bad as another, whether it is in a development area or not?

Mr. Page

No. We must give preferential treatment to the development areas. This acknowledges their considerable economic problem. The response from local authorities in the derelict land areas to the 75 per cent. grant is encouraging.

Mr. Kaufman

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that when this general subject was last raised in the House the Secretary of State for the Environment implied that those of us who wished these differentials to be extended to the greater Manchester area did not care about areas of high unemployment? Does the hon. Gentleman realise that Manchester is an area not only of very bad problems of this nature but also of high unemployment? To deal with both of these problems, will the hon. Gentleman now extend these grants and facilities to the Manchester area?

Mr. Page

The 75 per cent. grant applies to a very broad band right across from East to West in the North and the Midlands. At 75 per cent. it is a very generous grant and local authorities in the poorer areas, by means of the rate support grant, bring it up to about 85 per cent.

Sir Harmar Nicholls

Is there not a lack of logic in the way my hon. Friend is approaching this? Do not the special areas have extra inducements to attract industry from elsewhere? In this case, the dereliction is fixed. The dereliction does not move from these areas, so the aid that is given should run equally all along the band.

Mr. Page

The development areas have economic problems which the others do not. We must maintain this differential.

16. Mr. Dormand

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied with the rate of progress in the reclamation of derelict land; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Page

Local authorities in the priority areas are making encouraging progress. The estimated gross expenditure on schemes approved for grant in England during the first six months of the current financial year was £3.3 million. This is more than the amount approved during the whole of 1969–70.

Mr. Dormand

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that despite the generous Exchequer grant, far too many local authorities are not taking advantage of it? Will he consider killing two birds with one stone by increasing the grant to 100 per cent. in areas of high unemployment, so speeding up reclamation and at the same time creating sorely needed jobs?

Mr. Page

If the hon. Gentleman can give me the names of any local authorities which are not responding, I shall be happy to look into the matter. I think it would defeat the object if we were to increase the grant to 100 per cent. In fact, although the poorer areas receive 80 per cent., with rate support grant it already runs up to 95 per cent.

Mr. Wilkinson

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that the Hunt Committee emphasised that not only investment incentives but environmental criteria militated against industrial areas adjacent to intermediate and development areas? Will he look again at the question of providing better rates for the improvement of derelict land for industrial regions such as wool textile districts which face a serious problem in this matter?

Mr. Page

We are looking into the problems of the textile areas now to see whether an adjustment can be made in the description of "derelict land" in those areas.

Mr. Bob Brown

Will the hon. Gentle-reconsider having a 100 per cent. grant, particularly in respect of the special development areas, in which we have a massive unemployment problem? Is he aware that the 15 per cent. that remains for local authorities to find is often the breaking point—particularly in view of his right hon. Friend's generous offer of another £130 million of loan sanction to encourage local authorities to go deeper and deeper into debt?

Mr. Page

The figures show that the grants are having their effect at the percentages at which they now stand. The amount cleared in 1969 was 2,500 acres and by 1970 it had gone up to over 3,500 acres, which means that local authorities are responding.