§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent the allocations of public expenditure to housing construction and improvement in 1976–1977 was under-spent; and to what extent he expects an underspending of these allocation in 1977–78.
§ Mr. ArmstrongFor 1976–77 there was an overall overspend, at outturn prices, on the provision for public sector expenditure on housing construction and improvement in England as included in the expenditure White Paper, Cmnd. 6393. published in February 1976. This was made up of a substantial overspend on new construction work by local authorities, to which the cash limit system did not apply, and an underspend on improvement work.
For the current year we have already acted, for example by reallocating some new housebuilding approvals, to ensure the maximum take-up possible of resources available, and we will continue to do so during the rest of the year.