§ Mr. Patnickasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of outturn in the current year on cash limit DOE/LA1; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RidleyDOE/LA1 covers capital expenditure and receipts by local authorities in England on education, housing, transport, personal social services, and other services. The first quarter's returns indicate that there is likely to be an underspend this year of a substantial amount. I have already announced that some additional allocations may be made to cover expenditure in the current year in making good storm damage. But in view of the size of the prospective underspend, I and my colleagues responsible for the services within the cash limit in addition propose supplementary allocations of up to £75 million to cover expenditure on worthwhile schemes which will be incurred in the remainder of this financial year.
As far as my own services are concerned, up to £44.7 million of the extra resources will specifically be made available for additional housing schemes. I intend to direct these resources at well-targeted and cost-effective schemes to tackle homelessness, housing defects, renovation and homes insulation.