§ Mr. John Ellisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the operation of the Community Land Scheme by local authorities in England in 1976–77.
§ Mr. FreesonI am grateful for this opportunity to make known the way in which the scheme has been implemented in England. Despite the background of a difficult economic climate the land scheme made a good start. Provisional figures indicate that, in the financial year 1976–77, 1,571 acres of land were acquired, of which 832 acres were for housing, 730 for industry and nine for commerce. This is about one-third more than the acreage figure incorporated in
COMMUNITY LAND SCHEME: END OF YEAR POSITION 1976–77 Preliminary Assessment (England) Land Acquired Housing Industry Commerce Total Region £m. Acres £m. Acres £m. Acres £m. Acres West Midlands … 2.0 283 0.8 87 0.05 7 2.85 377 East Midlands … 0.5 109 0.6 76 — — 1.1 185 Yorkshire and Humberside … 0.7 115 1.1 223 — — 1.8 338 Northern … 0.7 121 0.6 192 — — 1.3 313 NorthWest … 0.2 89 0.4 43 — — 0.6 132 Eastern … 0.2 12 0.1 17 0.3 1 0.6 30 SouthWest … 0.4 32 0.4 40 0.08 1 0.9 73 South East … 1.1 66 0.5 42 0.01 — 1.6 108 London … 0.45 5.4 0.9 9.6 — — 1.35 15 Total … 6.25 832.4 5.4 729.6 0.44 9 12.1 1,571 Notes:
The expenditure figures:
(1) are at actual prices.
(2) are net of DLT.
(3) exclude staff and administration.
(4) include an estimated £0.1m. of interest and infrastructure expenditure. Department of the Environment, May 1977.