§ Mr. Urwinasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the delay in payments of approved regional development grant and agricultural capital grant, announced in July 1976, will be lifted.
§ Mr. HealeyI accept that maintenance of these artificial delays is undesirable. I am pleased to say that they can now be cancelled. The outstanding payments will be made as soon as possible over the next few weeks. The total of additional grant expenditure this will release in the current financial year is estimated at £102 million. This will be offset by savings arising from the new arrangements for export credit and home shipbuilding refinance. Similar action will be taken in Northern Ireland.