§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received from local authorities concerning the present functioning of the partnership scheme and its future; and what proportions of those representations supported abandonment of the scheme, continuation of the scheme on its present basis or expanding the scheme to give local authorities greater funds.
§ Sir George YoungLocal authorities make many representations about partnership matters in the course of our frequent discussions with them. None has suggested that the arrangements should be abandoned or radically changed. There have been requests for additional resources and changes in emphasis.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what evidence he has as to the economic and social effects of the partnership schemes.
§ Sir George YoungEvidence of social and economic effects of partnership schemes is gathered both by the partnerships concerned, in order to influence the forward planning of their partnership programmes, and by my Department in the course of exercises of monitoring and research. Individual projects that have been examined in the course of this work have generally been found to be providing good results. Examples of the types of project funded may be found in the Departmental publications "The Partnerships at Work" and "Tackling Racial Disadvantage", copies of which are in the Library.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money, at current prices, has been granted to each partnership authority in each financial year since 1979–80.
§ Sir George YoungThe information is as follows:
459Wdeducted from rate support grant payments to each partnership local authority in each financial year since 1979–80 by the mechanism of grant holdback.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) on 28 November.— [Vol. 49, c.371–72.]
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will exempt from the calculation of the local authorities' expenditure in respect of producing the amount of rate support grant holdback expenditure where local authorities take over his Department's proportion of the financing of partnership schemes.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy right hon. Friend has received a number of representations for expenditure on urban programme projects by partnership authorities to be disregarded for the calculation of holdback when urban programme grant is no longer payable on them. He will consider these representations carefully before taking final decisions on grant holdback for any year.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement concerning the future of the partnership scheme.
§ Sir George YoungThe partnerships have received half the total resources of £1,293 million made available under the urban programme since 1978–79. The Government will continue to concentrate these resource in areas of greatest need, and to maintain and strengthen the partnerships through the close involvement of Ministers.
§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to give financial assistance to those local authorities currently receiving partnership fund who wish to continue specific partnership-funded projects.
§ Sir George YoungNo. Applications for renewal of urban programme funding of partnership schemes are considered on their merits. In the case of the former docklands partnership, with which the hon. Member may be concerned, I recently announced that I am enabling the London Docklands Development Corporation to make available additional resources for voluntary projects, since resources available under the docklands urban programme are tailing off as existing commitments are completed.