§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that North Staffordshire is receiving a fair proportion of resources in order to encourage revitalisation of the area and to make the best use of existing resources; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Guy BarnettI am satisfied that in general North Staffordshire is receiving its fair share of resources through the various Government grants and programmes. Nevertheless, the Department has recently commissioned a study of the North Staffordshire economy, which should yield useful information about the economic infrastructure of the area. In addition, there will be some consideration of North Staffordshire in the regional context in the updating and review of the West Midlands Regional Strategy which is currently being undertaken jointly by the West Midlands Planning Authorities Conference and central Government.