Home Improvement Grants

HC Deb 21 December 1983 vol 51 cc421-2

9. Mr. Phillip Oppenheim

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the administration of the home improvement grant system by local authorities.

Sir George Young

The success of our policies has meant that both numbers of grants and expenditure have reached record levels, and I expect historically high levels of expenditure to continue next year. I know that there have been difficulties in some areas, where there are backlogs of applications.

Mr. Oppenheim

Is my hon. Friend aware that these grants are usually disbursed on a first-come first-served basis, with no limit on the amount that each individual householder can claim, meaning that the council often has no funds left for householders who are last in the queue because it has disbursed large sums to householders who were earlier in the queue? Is there not a case, therefore, for limiting the amount that each individual householder can claim? Is my hon. Friend also aware that local councils sometimes ask for repayment of grants from householders who have purchased houses? Surely this is not in the spirit of the law.

Sir George Young

The application of the legislation is a matter for the discretion of local authorities. On my hon. Friend's first point, they have discretion to give a lower percentage than 90 per cent. or 75 per cent. if they wish to give the amount of money available to more people. But the individual processing of applications and the way decisions are taken is a matter for the local authority and not for my Department.

Mr. Hardy

I flatly reject any accusation that local authorities have been in some way deficient in this matter. Will the Minister confirm that over the past five years, if there has been a problem in regard to the home improvement system, it has been due largely to inadequate Government support and serious Government inconsistency?

Sir George Young

In 1978–79, £90 million was spent on home improvement grants. Last year the figure was £430 million. I totally reject the accusation that the hon. Member has made.

Mr. Heddle

Does my hon. Friend share the alarm, as do many hon. Members of the House, at the inordinate length of time some local authorities take to process these applications — well in excess of 12, 15, 18 months? Does he agree that there is a case to be made here for the inspection of the properties eligible for improvement grants being put out to the private sector, thus eliminating delay?

Sir George Young

That is a very positive suggestion and it is being followed up by a number of local authorities. I accept that there is a considerable burden of work, but many local authorities are redeploying existing staff and finding other means, such as the one my hon. Friend mentioned, of improving efficiency and cutting into the backlog.

Mr. Leighton

Does the Minister not realise that under his administration home improvement grants are getting worse? There are fewer and fewer of them, with fewer people involved. It is no good Ministers shaking their heads. Do they not realise that, with their policies on home improvement grants, there will be no need for administration at local level because there will be no grant to distribute? Answer that.

Sir George Young

Ministers were shaking their heads because we have the figure in front of us, which totally contradicts what the hon. Member has said. The figure was £90 million in 1978–79. It went up to £200 million in 1981–82, to £430 million last year, and this year it will be over £500 million.

Mr. Maxwell-Hyslop

Will my hon. Friend ensure that his Department's publicity makes it clear to members of the public that a discretionary grant is not something to which they are entitled? It is something that they can have only if the local authority can afford the continuing cost of its 10 per cent. and the interest on the borrowed money.

Sir George Young

My hon. Friend will be receiving today or tomorrow a letter from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State which deals with the specific point about the funding of the local authority's contribution and the publicity.

Mr. John Fraser

Will the Minister first give an unconditional assurance, that where a local authority has agreed to pay a 90 per cent. improvement grant provided the application is made before 31 March next year, no matter when the grant is processed, the applicant will receive 90 per cent. of the approved cost? Secondly, can he confirm that those local authorities that try to satisfy the demands of private tenants and owner-occupiers by speeding up the processing of grants will not then be penalised under the rate support grant settlement by losing rate support grant simply because they have taken on extra staff to deal with the public demand for the improvement grants that he originally encouraged?

Sir George Young

The answer to the first point is no. Persons are eligible for grants at the higher rate, but at the discretion of the local authority.

On the second point, the rate support grant makes allowance for staff employed on that work. I hope that the town halls can redeploy existing staff to make an impact on the backlog.