§ 12. Mr. Cledwyn Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total expenditure approved for locally-determined schemes in Wales for 1973–74.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasAllocations of capital payments for locally-determined schemes in Wales in 1973–74 total £24,577,000.
§ Mr. HughesIs it not the case that approvals by the Secretary of State in many cases fall far short of requirements and of what the local authorities had been led by the Department to expect, and that this will lead to redundancies among county council employees in many counties in Wales? Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman reconsider many of these cases and listen to the appeals of county councils and other local authorities against his decision to reduce the amount which county councils are to get?
§ Mr. ThomasThe total allocations of areas were discussed and agreed before-England and Wales and the factors taken into account in distribution to county hand with the local authority associations. I have had correspondence with the right hon. Gentleman about Anglesey. The sum of £743,000, which is the amount Anglesey will get out of the total I announced, is substantially greater than the expenditure for Anglesey in previous years on schemes now in the locally-determined sector.