HC Deb 08 February 2000 vol 344 cc109-10
10. Mr. Clive Efford (Eltham)

What factors he will take into consideration in determining regional quotas for the allocation of future regeneration funds; and if he will make a statement. [107315]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Beverley Hughes)

The 2000 spending review that is currently under way will determine funding levels from 2001–02 to 2003–04 for all domestic regeneration programmes. Factors that will be taken into account in deciding regional spread will depend on the objectives and priorities agreed for the programmes, together with our policies for economic development and renewal, social inclusion and urban renaissance.

Mr. Efford

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. She will be aware of the concern that some areas have taken precedence over others that show high levels of deprivation and social need. To clarify the position, will she undertake to publish the data used in drawing up the new indicators of social need, and the way in which the indicators have been weighted?

Ms Hughes

As my hon. Friend knows, there has been heavy criticism of the methodology used for the current index, which is why we propose to change it. We need a better indication of small pockets of deprivation and of disadvantage in rural as well as urban areas. However, we recognise that no index is perfect and that an index cannot provide a measure of absolute deprivation, so it is important to use the index sensitively and flexibly in deciding future regeneration resources. We shall look into the question that my hon. Friend raises in relation to the data.

Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire)

Why did the Government allow the European Union to cut Britain's allocation of EU regeneration funds last July?

Ms Hughes

The English regions will receive some £4 billion of European structural funds from the Commission this year. That, together with the £5.5 billion that the Government have committed to regeneration in our English regions, demonstrates how serious we are about tackling social exclusion, wherever it occurs. It is the legacy of the previous Government that social exclusion and deprivation exist in every region of the country.