§ Mr. Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number and total value of housing improvement grants under his departmental schemes approved by the following local authorities: Macclesfield Borough Council, Macclesfield Rural District Council, Congleton Borough Council, Bollington Urban District Council and Disley Rural District Council, for each of the last three years.
§ Mr. EyreThe information available about grants approved by the authorities is given below. As the amount of standard grants approved is not available for the years before 1971, the numbers and amounts of these grants paid in 1970 are also shown.
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§ Mr. Milneasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to enable local authorities to reclaim moneys paid in housing improvement grants where there has been a resale of property.
§ Mr. EyreThe White Paper "Better Homes—The Next Priorities" (Cmnd. 5339) contained the Government's proposals for changes in the improvement grant system. These included a discretionary power to be given to local authorities to attach conditions, binding over a specified period, to grants made to owners other than owner-occupiers. It is proposed that if those conditions were breached, the grant would have to be repaid to the local authority, with compound interest. Consultations on these proposals preparatory to the introduction of legislation are in progress.
§ Mr. Milneasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will examine the necessity for legislation in regard to contracting and tendering by local authorities, with particular reference to the operation of the House Improvement Grants Scheme.
§ Mr. RipponThe practical implications of matters such as these are kept under constant review, but I have no reason to suppose that further legislation is required.