HC Deb 20 March 1986 vol 94 cc401-2
6. Mr. Michael Brown

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to increase the local authority grant-aid for civil defence; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Giles Shaw

My hon. Friend will have seen from the 1986–87 Supply Estimates presented to Parliament on Tuesday 18 March that it is proposed to increase the level of grant-aid from £11.9 million to £13.7 million in 1986–87.

Mr. Brown

Unfortunately, I have not yet seen those encouraging statistics. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister and his colleagues for that reply. Can my hon. Friend give any advice to those of us who have to face local authorities which might not be making sufficient use of those resources and which are not making proper provision for civil defence?

Mr. Shaw

The implementation of the Civil Defence Regulations 1983, now afoot throughout the country, is the most important prerequisite for making effective use of the civil defence grant to which I have referred. I trust that my hon. Friend will continue his sterling work of goading the recalcitrant local authorities to adopt a sensible approach to the security of their citizens.

Mr. Corbett

If the Minister is really interested in the security of citizens, when will he start making money available to enable local authorities to plan properly to cope with non-nuclear emergencies. At the moment little or no cash is available and there is a big hole in the safety provisions.

Mr. Shaw

I am delighted to receive that floral tribute from the hon. Gentleman. With the passage of the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Upminster (Sir N. Bonsor) we shall be able to make it clear that local authorities can indeed use grant aid for non-nuclear, peacetime emergencies. That does not in any way stop them from making proper provision for volunteers or planning for all emergencies now.

Mr. Neil Thorne

Will my hon. Friend do his best to continue to put pressure on the Treasury to agree to 100 per cent. funding for civil defence purposes? It is one of the main reasons why local authorities are so reluctant to be involved in this issue. There is no earthly reason why a suitable adjustment should not be made to the rate support grant which would mean that no more public expenditure would be involved.

Mr. Shaw

My hon. Friend will be aware that there is another question on the Order Paper that relates to this issue. I shall confine myself now to making it clear that the Treasury has approved increases in grant-aid available through the Home Office—£9.1 million two years ago, £11.9 million last year and £13.7 million this year. We mean what we say. We are giving civil defence a substantial increase in expenditure.

Mr. Greenway

Does my hon. Friend agree that money spent promoting so-called nuclear-free zones provides no civil defence cover before, during or after any nuclear or any other conflagration? Does he also agree that the £81,000 of taxpayers' and ratepayers' money devoted this year by the GLC to the promotion of nuclear-free zones would have been much better spent on civil defence throughout London?

Mr. Shaw

My hon. Friend is right. The GLC has spent just short of £500,000 on the GLAWARS study, which seems to suggest that a substantial part of the Government's policy earns the GLC's endorsement. It is ridiculous to offer anyone at any time nuclear-free zones as a form of protection.