§ 52. Mr. Altonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the provision of resources to inner urban areas in the light of the report of the Archibishop of Canterbury's commission on urban priority areas, a copy of which has been sent to him.
§ Sir George YoungThe Government's policy is to continue to provide resources to secure lasting improvements in inner urban areas through a range of initiatives and programmes. These include the urban 1978–79; urban development grant, which is attracting more than £300 million in private investment to inner areas, while creating or safeguarding 17,000 jobs: derelict land grant, which has doubled in real terms since 1979–80; the urban development corporations, which are transforming disused land and buildings and bringing in substantial private investment—over £1,000 million in the case of the London Docklands Development Corporation alone; and the setting up of enterprise zones. Local authorities' need to spend is reflected in the distribution of rate support grant. Other Departments' programmes are also relevant to the needs of inner urban areas.