§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish figures showing, region by region, and if practicable, authority by authority, the total sums allocated by central Government for capital expenditure on housing construction and improvement for the current financial 300W year and each of the preceding three years, the sums actually spent in the preceding year, and the sums which he estimates will actually be spent in the current year.
§ Mr. ArmstrongCash allocations were first introduced in 1975–76 in respect of council house improvements; they were extended in 1977–78 to cover all local authority capital spending on housing.
Allocations to local authorities in respect of improvements for 1976–77 were published in the Official Report on Tuesday 19th July 1977—[Vol. 935, cols. 497–510.]. Copies of the consolidated cash allocations for 1977–78 were placed in the Library of the House on 14th October 1977 and I am making similar arrangements for the 1975–76 allocations.
In England, the provisional outturn for 1976–77 was £1,260 million and £356 million respectively for new construction and improvement. Figures for individual authorities could be produced only at disproportionate cost. The recent White Paper on public expenditure (Cmnd. 7049) indicates a possible 1977–78 outturn for Great Britain of £1,149 million for new construction and £425 million for council house improvements. The corresponding figures for England are £1,009 million and £342 million. The Department does not make estimates for individual local authorities.