§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding he is providing to local councils for housing improvement grants in(a) England and (b) Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement. [64443]
§ Mr. McNultyThe Government no longer allocates specific funding to local authorities for housing improvement grants. Each housing authority must decide how much it will allocate towards this purpose from the total capital funding provided to it by the Government each year.
Total capital resources made available for housing purposes for all authorities in England for 2002–03 is £2.5 billion. For Gloucestershire the figure for 2002–03 is £16.6 million, an increase of 85 per cent on 1997–98.