HC Deb 18 January 1989 vol 145 cc317-8
1. Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the total of inner city funding for the London borough of Brent.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr. Tony Newton)

The Government are making a substantial contribution under their inner-city programmes to the London borough of Brent. In 1987–88, more than £16 million was made available, including more than £10 million for training and employment programmes and more than £6 million to help regenerate the local economy and improve the environment.

Mr. Livingstone

Does the Minister accept that those funds nowhere near compensate Brent's loss of rate support grant which is now about 40 per cent.? Since we in this House trade statistics all the time, will the Minister accept an invitation to come to the advice surgery which I hold each week—[Interruption.] I am sorry that hon. Members laugh because last night at my surgery I saw 30 people, all of whom are suffering massive problems caused by the Government's cuts in housing programmes and in DHSS funding. Will the Minister come and see the human reality into which statistics are translated at my surgery?

Mr. Newton

I have to admit, I hope with due modesty, that I am more inclined to think that the London borough of Brent needs advice more than the Government need it. I am confirmed in that view by the fact that the hon. Gentleman has said that of all the Labour councils he knew, none was as incompently and insensitively managed as Brent. He might like to draw the attention of Brent council to the fact that it has not submitted audited grant claims under the urban programme since 1981–82, and that some £6 million of grant that it could have received under that programme remains unclaimed.

Mr. Ian Bruce

Will my right hon. Friend consider the amount of taxpayers' money that has gone into an area of the south-east which currently has so many vacancies and so much private industry capital investment? Surely that is a misuse of taxpayers' money when there are so many regions which have real unemployment problems and could do with that money. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that money would be better directed to areas other than Brent?

Mr. Newton

It is certainly the case that other areas of the country have very substantial needs—including the area that I visited yesterday, where the Government invest very large sums of money. However, we should not overlook the fact that there are serious problems in some pockets of the south.