§ Mr. Pikeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report the category B derelict land schemes in Lancashire for which capital allocations have been approved for 1984–85 (a) for new schemes and (b) for continuation of schemes already commenced showing the schemes being undertaken (i) by the county council and (ii) by the respective borough councils.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneAdditional capital allocations for derelict land reclamation will be made to these councils when the levels of expenditure on committed and new schemes are known. The councils have already been told that allocations will be made to cover certain levels of commitment notified by them; that undertaking is not, however, the approval of allocations for specific schemes.
§ Mr. Pikeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations his Department has received since the recent changes were announced in the procedure for dealing with category B derelict land schemes; and whether, in the light of such representations, he is prepared to reconsider the changes made.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneLancashire county council has objected to the procedural changes and three hon. Members have raised the matter at Lancashire's request. Other authorities in the north-west have generally welcomed the intention of allocating the available resources to match actual rather than anticipated expenditure given the difficulties of accurate estimation and the link between allocations and the payment of derelict land reclamation grants. A meeting is to be held with Lancashire to discuss its specific problems, but no further changes in procedure are proposed.