§ Mr. Woodcockasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on Government support for public expenditure on Merseyside.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinOver the last three years capital expenditure by local authorities and other bodies on Merseyside, under the Department's main programmes, has reached £650 million. This expenditure is substantially supported by Exchequer grant. The money has been, and is being, spent on a wide variety of programmes and projects aimed at helping to tackle Merseyside's problems. The following table gives the details:
tourism potential of the area. Support has also been given to experimental projects to tackle some of the worst housing problems. Many of these projects invoke the private sector in new and imaginative ways.
599WIn addition, Government support for local authority current expenditure through the rate support grant has averaged £384 million in a year.
Other Government Departments also continue to make substantial resources available to the area through their Department's expenditure programmes.