HC Deb 23 February 1983 vol 37 cc926-7
17. Sir Anthony Grant

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the practical effect of the work of the financial institutions group established by his Department; how many members there are; and what has been the total cost.

Mr. King

The financial institutions group has been a most successful experiment in combining the expertise of the public and private sectors. Twenty six managers from major private sector institutions have worked with the Government for the past year on new approaches to urban regeneration. The urban development grant and inner city enterprises are two ideas that have already been adopted. The institutions met most salary costs and expenses—about £1 million. The cost to the public sector—approximately £350,000—was mainly for Civil Service support.

Sir Anthony Grant

I welcome any initiative that my right hon. Friend takes to encourage private enterprise to operate where there is urban decay. Does he agree that the financial institutions group is one of many hundreds of such bodies throughout the country and that what it has achieved in terms of removing urban decay is obscure? Would there be some merit in having a national directory of all these schemes that includes an evaluation of what they are doing to achieve my right hon. Friend's admirable aim?

Mr. King

The financial institutions group has worked with the Government to investigate ways in which the institutions and private sector funding can play a larger role in contributing to some of those programmes. Much work has already been done, but I am keen to give the maximum publicity to the work that such bodies have done. I shall see how that can be carried forward.

Mr. Squire

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the flexibility that the Department shows in tackling the problems of inner-city areas. Does he agree that that is in contrast to the attitude of several Opposition Members who still see the problem as being simply one of spending ever more state money by local authorities?

Mr. King

That is right. I referred briefly to urban development grant. The first tranche that I announced was £10 million, which was in support of £40 million of private investment. It is interesting to note that an additional £800 million of investment, which is strongly geared to private sector investment in this regard, is under consideration in my Department. There is a charming note which describes that, which I see included in my briefing. It says: Unspecific optimism is the order of the day.