§ Mr. HindTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by local authorities in fulfilling their civil defence obligations during the third year of the planned programme for implementation of the Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations 1983.
§ Mr. John PattenCopies of a report on implementation of the 1983 regulations by 30 September 1989 have today been placed in the Library. The report discusses local authorities' progress in meeting their civil defence obligations since the last such report, which covered the period up to 1 October 1988.
The planned programme for implementation was introduced in 1986 to monitor local authority progress under the 1983 regulations. It provides a broad framework within which the work can be developed and enables the Government to assess whether the civil defence duties of local authorities are being adequately discharged and thus whether grant can properly be paid.
It is clear that the planned programme for implementation has been an effective means of developing the planning process. A circular is therefore being issued to local authorities today announcing the Government's decision to extend the planned programme for implementation into a sixth year covering the period from October 1991 to September 1992.
The Government will continue to monitor local authority activity and the value for money in the grant 199W paid by calling for annual progress reports and costed programmes of work which will be the subject of individual discussion.