§ Mr. MurphyTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was held by local authorities in Wales, as at 31 March 1992, in respect of housing capital receipts reserved for debt redemption.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesAs at 31 March 1992, local authorities were required to set aside specified proportions of the capital receipts which they acquire for the repayment of debt, to meet payments on credit arrangements, such as finance leases, or in lieu of capital expenditure. Authorities are also required to make minimum provision from their revenue resources to meet credit liabilities. Such capital charges may be met in part by the interest gained on capital receipts, but the individual sources of such provision are not distinguished in the information collected centrally. In addition to the requirements for the application of capital receipts and revenue resources to meet credit liabilities, authorities may choose to apply the unspecified portions of their receipts which are available for new capital expenditure as well as revenue allocations to this end. At 31 March 1992, the outstanding housing loan debt for which provision would be required stood at £1,800,000,000. The scheduled amount of housing capital receipts assigned to meet credit liabilities stood at £180,000,000 at that date but, in addition, part of the £28,300,000 of unreserved housing receipts could also be applied to such use by authorities.