§ 7. Mr. Jonathan Sayeed (Mid-Bedfordshire)If he will make a statement about the current level of non-housing debt in the North Lanarkshire local authority. [45576]
§ The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Donald Dewar)My apologies, Madam Speaker. It is worth waiting for, though—it is all good stuff and a very precise answer. Non-housing capital debt in North Lanarkshire council was –256.8 million at 31 March 1997.
§ Mr. SayeedThat is an unusually helpful answer from the Labour party. Did Labour not know about those 832 problems when Neil Kinnock was Leader of the Opposition, but nothing was done; when the late John Smith was Leader of the Opposition, and nothing was done; and when the Prime Minister was Leader of the Opposition, and nothing was done? Only now, when Labour is in government—and because those councillors have served their purpose and got Labour into power—is the Labour party prepared to do anything. For all those years, the people of Monklands and North Lanarkshire have had to pay through the nose for incompetence or worse.
§ Mr. DewarI totally failed to follow the logic of the hon. Gentleman's question, which seemed to have many of the characteristics of any early Monty Python without the humour. I am sure the hon. Gentleman appreciates that the £256.8 million is long-term debt for financing a number of capital projects. There was repayment of more than £10 million in the last financial year. That matter is not in dispute; the situation is under control. Interest payments are, of course, met directly from Government grant. I hope that that provides some consolation for the hon. Gentleman, and that he will go home a rather happier man.
§ Mr. Michael Connarty (Falkirk, East)I think the thrust of the Opposition's second question was about the performance of local authorities in general. Will the Secretary of State take the trouble to commend the many local authorities in Scotland that have done a wonderful job in the face of adversity and attack from the Conservatives over 18 years? Will he give the House a possible timetable for the publication of performance indicators that the Government will release? When are the performance plans of local authorities likely to be presented to the public? I am sure that the Secretary of State will join me in saying that, in many cases and for many services, they will show the excellent performance of local authorities in Scotland.
§ Mr. DewarOf course I am glad to pay tribute to the very many effective and hard-working councillors—many of whom are my personal friends—who dedicate themselves to delivering in local government. It is a service to them to try to root out and deal with any abuse that occurs. However, we must be very careful about how we judge such matters. For example, I am informed that Bedfordshire county council, which is Conservative controlled, is running a debt of £120 million in its housing department for the current year. I do not know the circumstances in Cambridge, so I do not condemn that local authority; I suspect that those on the Opposition Benches would sometimes be wise to exercise a similar caution.