§ Mr. Ken HargreavesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's policy on the timing of announcements as to who will receive grants under(a) section 16 of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 and (b) section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 in relation to the beginning of the relevant financial year; and how many times this target has been achieved in the last five years, for each grant.
§ Mr. TrippierIt is the Department's policy now to announce the award of grants under section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 and under section 16 of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 where possible before the start of the financial year to which they apply. Applications may be considered (and grants awarded) at any time during the year.
Section 73 grants
Over the last five years, awards of grants were notified in each July or August with the exception of 1987–88 when grants were not announced until September.
Section 16 grants
This grant regime started in May 1987. Awards for the latter half of that year were made in October 1987. For 1988–89 and 1989–90, all recipients of grant were notified before or at the start of the financial year.