HC Deb 16 March 1988 vol 129 c603W
55. Mr. Ian Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the treatment of balances in council housing accounts.

Mrs. Roe

In 1980 we removed from local authorities the restriction on the extent of credit balances for which they could budget in housing revenue accounts. We also permitted transfers of part or the whole of any balance to the general rate fund, a counterpart to the existing discretion to make contributions from the rate fund to the HRA. The obligation to make good any deficit in the HRA has not been altered. We are currently reviewing the financial regime for local authority housing.