§ Mr. Biffenasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many applications have been received for grants from local authorities wishing to establish pre-shopping information services; what is the total value of the grants applied for; and how this compares with the sum made available.
Mr. Alan Williams128 applications, of which 106 are from local authorities, in respect of 460 local price survey schemes have been received for grants totalling £511,500 per annum. A number of these are still provisional and a few overlap. The expenditure on these grants, sufficient to cover around 300 schemes, will total some £400,000 in this and the next financial year. A Supplementary Estimate will be presented in due course for the expenditure in 1975–76. In the meantime, recourse will be had to the Contingencies Fund.